Young Justice: New Heroes
by Shadow2017
Summary: Part 1/9. Both the Justice League and the Team have fallen to an unknown enemy and it's up to one man to train a new Team to fill the gap left by his terrible event. Will he be up to the task? Will the New Heroes rise when greater heroes have fallen? Only time will tell as eight teens are pulled into events that will decide not only their fates but that of the Earth's as well. R
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I'm only saying this once throughout this Fanfic, I do not own Young Justice, any DC characters, submitted OC's or storylines, just my own ideas.**

**This Fanfic is set two years after Season two and while I will keep it as canon to the Series as possible there will be some changes to suit my story.**

**Please read and review. The more reviews I get the better.**

**Prologue**

**Lost Justice**

**The Watchtower **

**June 15****th**** 09:16 2018**

The Crow's Nest was always eerily quiet; the only sounds to be heard were the periodic beeping coming from the dozens of machines that did everything from monitor the Watchtower's security to tracking every member of the League. The Crow's Nest was completely automated and the only time anyone really came up here was to do routine maintenance, except of course for Batman.

Even though the Dark Knight had little reason to be up here, if there were any major crimes or disasters the Crow's Nest would update all members almost instantaneously, he would always come up here and check on things personally whenever he had time. Most would call him paranoid, but it had always served him well in his line of work over the years.

Standing before him, in the center of the room, was a large hologram of the Earth and Watchtower. The hologram was being projected by the computer that monitored League activity and dozens of red dots were scattered across it, each one representing a member of the League.

Walking past the hologram, Batman made his way towards the security console on the far side of the room. Accessing its manual controls the Dark Knight began checking, double checking and triple checking every security system within the Watchtower. Ever since the Light had infiltrated them all those years ago the League had taken every possible action to increase security within the Watchtower, including recruiting Mister Terrific as their Head of Security. Still it was always better to be safe than sorry.

After ten minutes Batman finished his checks and there appeared to be nothing wrong with any of the Watchtower's systems. He had to hand it to Mister Terrific; he really knew what he was doing. Satisfied with the results Batman turned to leave when the Watchtower's alarms blared to life.

"**Intruder Alert, Intruder Alert," **yelled the Watchtower's computer. **"Unknown presences detected in sector sixteen. Level five security protocols enabled. Watchtower locked down"**

Batman wasted no time and ran towards the elevator and hit the button a little harder than he usually would have. But it didn't respond. He tried again but still nothing happened.

Something was wrong. A level five security lockdown was supposed to seal the Watchtower to all but the Justice League and the Team, if they weren't responding that meant only one thing. Someone had taken control of the Watchtower's computer network and turned its security measures against the League.

Batman tried his communicator. "This is Batman. The Watchtower's security systems have been taken over. Everyone evacuate now!" but the only response he got was static over his earpiece. "Can anyone hear me!" he tried again but to no avail. Whoever was responsible was also blocking all electronic communications.

A series of loud, dull booms violently shook the walls around him, causing him to momentarily lose his balance. A fierce battle was waging on in the Watchtower, and there was nothing Batman could do to help. Most of the Watchtower was made of promethium, a near indestructible metal, and he had neither the tools nor the time to attempt breaking through.

"_Batman, are you there?"_ said a voice in his head. The voice was J'onn J'onzz, aka the Martian Manhunter, using his telepathy.

"_I'm here J'onn, what's the situation?" _he asked anxiously.

"_The Watchtower has been infiltrated by hundreds of robotic assailants,"_ the Martian Manhunter told him. _"We are trying to hold them off but they are …" _the telepathic link was cut off.

"_J'onn, can you hear me. J'onn!"_ But it was no use. The psychic link was down. He could only hope that the Martian Manhunter was ok, but now was not the time to worry. He had to think of a way out of the Crow's Nest, and fast.

Examining the area he found only two other ways in or out of the Crow's Nest besides the elevator. Either through the air ducts or out through the emergency airlock on the opposite side of the room. Neither way looked promising as the air ducts were too small for his stature and he doubted that whoever was behind this would have left the airlock out of consideration. It seemed as though he had run out of options, but all was not lost. If the Justice League fell today the Team would take their place, just as they had been trained to do. But then something happened to change all that, something he hadn't counted on.

"_Batman, we got your message and came as quickly as we could," _said a telepathic voice in his head, but it was not J'onn's.

"_Miss Martian, what are you talking about?" _he asked_." I didn't sent any…" _Batman quickly put two and two together. _"It's a trap! Get out of here now!" _But it was too late, he felt the psychic link disconnect. "Damn it," he exclaimed out loud, punching the elevator door in frustration. If the Team fell alongside the League then all could be lost. He had never felt powerless before.

Something struck against the other side elevator door making a loud bang, followed by another. Whatever was attacking the Watchtower had found him. Guessing that he'd only have a few minutes before they got through, whether by force or let through by whoever had had orchestrated this, he turned back to the Crow's Nest for one last roll of the dice.

Batman ran towards the main computer and severed its connection to the rest of the Watchtower. Hooking the computer up to his communicator and boosting the signal using the console's own power source he should be able to bypass whatever was jamming his signal and get a message out. He just hoped it got to him in time.

He heard the elevator doors hiss open just as he sent his message and the sound of heavy, metal footsteps echoed down the hall. Before they reached him Batman uploaded one last surprise for his attackers into the Watchtower's systems. Having done all he could here he turned towards his attackers and came face to face with a single red, electronic eye before a sharp pain and the darkness of unconsciousness took him.

**-00000-**

A robot in black metallic armour stood in the command center of the Watchtower, staring intently at a several holographic screens through a single red eye that covered most of its face. The robot was roughly human in shape, albeit being almost nine feet tall, and well-muscled. Adorning its head was a red fin-like appendage that resembled the Mohawk hair style.

The screens were showing the battle between the Justice League and its own robot army. Even with its army's greater strength and numbers the Justice League were managing to hold their own against the invading force. But the League's effort was in vain. The invading force had already captured Superman, both Martians, Doctor Fate, Blue Beetle, Zatanna, and two of the Green Lanterns. It was only a matter of time before they all fell.

A screen materialized in front of the black robot revealing another robot similar to itself, albeit smaller and silver with a black Mohawk fin.

"**Have you completed your primary objective?" **the black robot asked.

"**Negative Commander." **The silver one replied. **"We had Batman subdued but the one designated Kid Flash freed him."**

"**It is of no consequence," **said the Commander. **"With the forcefield in place none can leave, and with their fortress under the Master's control they cannot hide for long. Do you have anything else to report Drone?"**

"**Yes Commander," **replied the Drone.** "The zeta-tubes are no longer functional. Batman appears to have disabled them. Our attempts to reactivate them have resulted in the permanent deactivation of two units. We also detected a transmission that was sent twenty-two seconds before Batman's capture."**

"**The zeta-tubes are of no use to us anymore, all members of the Justice League and the Team are trapped within the Watchtower, and we have our own means of transport. But this message is a different matter." **The commander went quite for several seconds and multi coloured lights blinked away under his red eye. **"Track the signal to its destination and dispatch a two pods when you locate it. We cannot allow anything to interfere with the Master's plan."**

"**Yes Commander," **the screen disappeared and the Commander returned his attention to the other screens as the last of the Green Lantern's was overwhelmed by a swarm of robots.

**-00000-**

**Happy Harbor**

**09:30**

A young man stood at the edge of the crater that was once Mount Justice, watching almost impassively as hundreds of people below were slowly turning it from a disaster zone into a new Eco-friendly power plant. He was a tall man, with dark unruly hair and blue eyes. He wore a dark blue business suit with a black tie and matching shoes.

This man was Richard Grayson, the adopted son of the multimillionaire Bruce Wayne, former defender of justice and former leader of The Team, Nightwing, and more recently the junior director of Wayne Tech. And all that was happening below was thanks to him.

Wayne Tech had been experimenting with an Eco-friendly power plant for years now and its plan's had finally come to fruition, all they needed was somewhere to build it that suited all of its needs. And Happy Harbor was that place. Happy Harbor was one of only eight places on earth where solar, hydro, wind and geothermic energy could all be harnessed in large amounts and the only one close enough to civilisation to be of any use.

It didn't take much to convince his superiors that Happy Harbor was the perfect location to build their power plant, and they had made the necessary calls and signed the papers within the day. By the end of the week construction on the power plant had begun and with it many more possibilities would come. And it was all thanks to him.

But despite all the good the power plant would bring he couldn't help but feel conflicted about building over Mount Justice. He had a lot of good memories of his time here, the friends he made, the lives he saved, all the good he accomplished since first coming here.

But he also had some bad memories, memories that he wished he could bury as easily as the ruins of Mount Justice were being buried. He had lied to his friends, manipulated them and put them in unnecessary danger, all so he could play the Light at their own game. In the end his plan had been successful and they defeated both the Light and the Reach without a single loss of life. But the guilt over what he had done to achieve this victory hadn't gone away even though everyone had come out of it virtually unscathed. His friends and teammates had forgiven him for what he had done but he hadn't forgiven himself.

What if the plan had failed? What if someone had lost their life because of his secrets? What if it had all been for nothing? These questions kept gnawing away at him, like a parasite whose appetite couldn't be sated, increasing his guilt day after day until it was almost unbearable. It was then he decided to leave the Team, not for their sake but for his. Until he could cope with the guilt it was too much of a risk for him to be on the Team.

It had been almost two years since that day. Two years for him to come to terms with his own emotions. Two years away from being a crime fighter, a hero. And in that time he had learnt one thing. That being a hero wasn't the only way to help people. He could do just as much, if not more, with Wayne Industries. Building this power plant was just the start of great things to come. Yet deep down he felt hollow, like something was missing but he couldn't figure out what.

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he almost didn't notice the foreman, Mason Steel, walking up to him. In fact it was only his years of training that alerted him to the man's approach.

Mr Steel, who in Richard's opinion had a very ironic name for his job, was a stout, muscular middle-aged man who was almost as wide as he was tall. He had bright ginger hair and a beard so large that he could have easily hidden a badger in it. He wore a short-sleeved red flannel shirt, dungarees, a pair of large sturdy boots and a yellow hard hat.

"Good morning Mr Steel," said Richard politely. "How's the construction going?"

"It's going well Mr Grayson," he replied with a loud gruff voice. "In fact we're three days ahead of schedule."

"That's great Mr Steel, I'm glad to hear it. And please call me Richard."

"Only if you call me Mason," he grinned and held out his hand.

Richard shook Mason's hand and couldn't help but smile. He had only known Mason for a short time but he knew this was a man he could trust. But what Richard liked most about him was his attitude towards other people. He treated them with the same level of respect they gave him, no matter who they were.

"So what brings you all the way up here?" asked Richard curiously. Mason and the other builders never came up here unless it was important. But before Mason could explain Richard's phone began to ring. Taking out of his pocket he checked the caller ID. It was Alfred. "Sorry I gotta take this," he said. He took several steps away and answered. "Hey Alfred, what's up?"

"Master Richard, I hate to interrupt your busy schedule but there is an important message for you at the cave."

"I left that life behind Alfred."

"It's from Bruce," the Butler told him. "It seems it's meant for your eyes only. It's marked Bluejay." Richard froze and his expression became frozen as old memories began to surface. It was almost a full minute before Alfred's voice snapped him back to reality. "Sir? Master Richard, are you there?"

"I'm here Alfred," his voice slightly shaky. "I'll be there ASAP."

"I'll make sure that everything is ready for your arrival Master Grayson."

"Thanks Alfred, I'll see you soon." Richard hung up and turned his attention back to Mason. "I'm sorry about this Mason, but a family matter has just come up and I'm needed back in Gotham."

"No need to explain. Family should always come first in my opinion."

"Glad to hear it. One of the other Directors should be here soon; if there are any problems just let them know. I'm sure that they can assist you with anything you need."

"I hope so. Good luck with your family."

"Thanks Mason, "said Richard before adding under his breath, "I'll need it."

**-00000-**

Mason continued to watch Richard go until he had gotten into his car and driven off into the distance. Once he was sure he had gone he made his way into a nearby trailer and locked the door behind him with a slight flick of his wrist, without touching the lock. He looked over towards on corner of the room, where the real Mason Steel lay in a coma.

The fake Mason's body began to shift into his true form. His skin had changed from fair to green and his hair disappeared completely. He was taller, with a narrow abdomen and a wide pelvis. He had elongated arms that hung below his knees with spikes extending from his elbows. He had three fingers on both hands, each one long and thin. His face was squat, with exposed teeth and gums, and two small red eyes.

"_The one known as Richard Grayson has left," _he said telepathically. _"Shall I follow him?"_

"_No, Ma'alefa'ak, that will be unnecessary. In fact it works in our favour." _answered a disembodied voice_. "What were you able to learn from him?" _

"_More than I expected," the Martian replied. "Far more."_

"_Good. Restore the worker's mind but keep him under our control he will still be of some use. Return to me when you have finished, I wish to know all that goes on within the young man's mind._

**-00000-**

**Wayne Manor **

**14:59**

To many people Wayne Manor always felt like a dark gloomy place even on a bright summer's day, the only time people changed their minds was when Bruce threw a party. But Richard had never gotten that feeling from the Manor. To him it always felt like home. Ever since that dreadful day his parents, aunt and cousin had been murdered nowhere else had given him the same feeling as Wayne Manor did, it was a part of him in mind, body and soul.

Pulling up to the Manor in his Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé Richard couldn't shake the dread that had been haunting his thoughts since Happy Harbor. Batman wouldn't have marked the message with Bluejay's name if it wasn't serious. Letting out a sigh he steeled himself for whatever awaited him within.

After parking his car in front of the Manor he walked to the front door and was about to walk in when the door swung inwards, revealing Alfred Pennyworth standing there waiting for him.

"Good afternoon sir," said the British butler. "I had expected your arrival by zeta-tube and I'm afraid the tea has gone rather cold." He said letting Richard in.

"It's ok Alfred," Richard said with a smile. "I would have come by zeta-tube but there's something wrong with them. I tired four along the way but none of them are working."

"That is odd," Alfred mused. "Maybe Master Bruce's message will enlighten the situation." He then led the way down a familiar path.

"Let's hope so."

The two men walked through the Manor and towards the study. The study was one of several ways into the Batcave but it was the closest and easiest. Walking up to the grandfather clock, Alfred set the time to 10:47, the time at which Bruce's parents were murdered. The clock swung forward revealing a staircase. Richard and Alfred descended the stairs into the darkened caverns that existed under the mansion and its surrounding area.

The darkness didn't last long however as the automatic lights flicked on, activated by motion sensors imbedded into the walls. The Batcave was almost as Richard remembered it. There were a few extra trophies, and there was an extra costume display case by the main computer, but otherwise it was unchanged. Richard wasted no time in heading to the computer. On screen the word "MESSAGE" stood in large bold letters.

"Play message," he told the computer.

"**Please confirm identification," **the computer replied.

"Flying Graysons," he answered.

"**Password and voice recognition accepted, Playing message." **

"Richard I can only hope that you get this message, and I'm sorry that I had to use Bluejay's name but it was the only way I knew that would get your attention," said Batman. The sounds of dull booms, explosions and metal striking metal could be heard in the background. "I don't have a lot of time so I need you to listen. The Watchtower has been taken over by an unknown force and they have lured both the League and the Team into a trap." Another explosion echoed over the message. "I have no idea of their strength or numbers but J'onn and M'gann have already fallen to them, maybe more have as well. I don't know if the combined strength of the League and the Team will be able to fight off this threat," he paused," that is why I'm asking you to proceed with emergency plan sixteen."

"You don't mean…" Richard began.

"I want you to train a new Team to replace the Justice League," Batman finished.

"I can't just leave you up there while you fight for your life's to babysit a bunch of rookies," Richard shouted at the computer, forgetting that it was a recording.

"You can't do anything to help us now," said Batman's recording as though he had anticipated an argument, which he probably had. "Whoever is behind this has planned for everything, except for you. Whatever happens to us, the world will always need heroes to watch over it. And you are the only one who can train them."

Dumbfounded over what Batman was saying, Richard slid into the chair behind him and hung his head in frustration. Batman was right of course. If both the Justice League and the Team couldn't do anything to this unknown force then it was unlikely he could make much, if any, difference. But that didn't help him feel any less powerless at this time.

"There is a flash drive by the Batcave's computer with a list of every being on Earth I believe would be suitable for the Team on it," the message continued. "I know you'll choose wisely. And Richard," he raised his head to look at the screen, "there is something I wanted to give you when I retired but given the circumstances, I think now is the best time. Unlock chamber zero", he said and the sounds of hissing and whirring drew Richard's attention away from the computer.

Behind him, just in front of the other costume case, another case slid out of the floor. Inside was Bruce's Batman costume. Only it wasn't his. It was made for someone shorter, and thinner than Bruce. Richard began to walk over to it, seemingly in a daze.

"The world will always need a Batman, and I can think of no one better to replace me than you."

He took the mask out of the case and stared at it in his hands.

"I know I'm putting a lot of pressure on you Richard, and I know this is a lot to take in. But I know that you'll make me proud." The banging was getting louder. "They're almost through the door. Once I've sent this message I'm shutting down the zeta-tubes to prevent these invaders from using them. You can reactivate Earth's zeta-tubes from the cave but the virus I'm using will permanently disable their access to the Watchtower. Goodbye Richard, and good luck." The message ended and for a while the cave became more silent than it had been in years.

"Are you alright Richard," Alfred asked in a worried tone.

"I'm fine Alfred." He pulled on the cowl and it felt like a part of him that he thought was long gone was returning, for the first time in almost two years he didn't feel hollow inside. "We have a lot of work to do." He returned to the computer to and plugged the flash drive into it.

"Indeed we do sir. Shall I make a fresh pot of tea, or would coffee be more suited to your needs?"

When he opened the flash drive hundreds of files appeared on the monitor, each one a potential candidate for the Team. And each one would be packed with everything from their skills to their weaknesses to their allergies.

"Coffee Alfred," he replied, "and lots of it."

**-00000-**


	2. The Birth of a Hero

First, I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews and I'd also like to thank San Child of the Wolf and Solaria Daughter of Apollo for their help.

The next eight chapters are all origin stories and occur three weeks before the prologue.

This is the first of the origin chapters which involves my character Leonard "Leo" Cooper.

Chapter 01

The Birth of a Hero

Cincinnati, Ohio

May 25th21:16 Three weeks ago

Leo didn't really like his life in the Maxwell Research Tower, even though he had almost everything he could want. He had several games consoles with about a hundred games, satellite TV, a large collection of books from all different genres, not that he had read many of them, he had very few rules to govern his life, he could eat what he wanted and sleep when and however long he wanted. But even though he had all this there was one thing he wanted more than anything else. He wanted someone to hang out with, a friend, and he would give everything up he had for even one.

He had been born and raised within the four walls of his room, never setting foot outside of them in his entire sixteen year old life. The only person he ever saw in this place was his mom, Doctor Alison Cooper, and he was lucky to see her once or twice a week, due to her busy schedule and the fact that her room was somewhere else in the Tower. He had tried many times over the years to leave the room but the door was always locked and he couldn't try the windows, because his room didn't have any. He was effectively a prisoner within his white walled room. Solidifying this feel was the fact that his clothes looked like grey versions of prisoner uniforms.

The reason for his life being like this was because his mother had signed a twenty year contract with Maxwell Lord, the founder of Maxwell Industries. The contract stated that she wasn't allowed to leave the facility under any circumstances until her term was complete. This also extended to any family members that she brought with her or that were born within the facility. And because Leo was still a minor and there were a lot of experiments going on within the Tower, some of them apparently dangerous, he wasn't allowed outside his room for health and safety purposes under any circumstances. At least until Leo was eighteen that is, then he would be free. Leo didn't hate his mother for the way his life was, it wasn't in his nature to hate anyone, not even Maxwell Lord, but he did wish he had a different life. Little did he know that after today his life would be changed forever.

Leo sat in his reclining chair idly flicking through the channels. "Boring, dull, seen it, rerun, garbage," he said on each channel. Giving up looking for something to watch he got up and began looking through his assortment of games, but none of them interested him. TV and games get boring after a while if you have no one to share them with. Letting out a sigh he started to pace the room trying to think on what he could do to keep himself occupied.

He stopped pacing after a while and caught sight of himself in the mirror and, as usual, was slightly disappointed with his reflection. He had inherited his dad's face which, according to his mom, was very handsome. He got his short blond hair from his mom, which he wore spiked up, her fair skin and her blue eyes. But it wasn't his looks that he was disappointed with. It was his build and height. He was sixteen years old but he was five foot tall and built like a twig. Both these traits he got from his mother and were the only things he hated about himself.

"I think you're a very handsome young man," said a voice behind him. It belonged to his mom. His mom was a short woman in her mid-forties, though she looked several years younger. Her long golden blond hair was tied in a tight neat bun and her bright blue eyes sparkled behind a pair of spectacles. She wore a dark green top with her white lab coat over it, a black knee length skirt and a pair of black shoes. She still wore her wedding ring even though his dad had died fourteen years ago.

"Maybe," he replied sounding depressed. "But I'm way too short, I look like a gnome."

"The best things come in small packages," she replied.

"Yeah right," he replied sarcastically but he soon brightened up. "So what are we doing tonight mom, games or TV?" he asked. Most teenage boys wouldn't want to hang out with their moms. But because he was stuck his room and had no one else to hang out with his mom became his best friend.

"I'm sorry honey I've still got a lot of work to do," she answered. "I had a little free time so I thought I'd drop by for five minutes."

"You're always working," he complained, sounding a bit like a five year old.

"Now Leo," she said placing her hands on his shoulders. "You know that if it wasn't important I'd be watching TV with you or beating you at Need for Speed," Leo gave her an annoyed look. "But we are nearly done with the project and once it's complete I'll have a lot more free time on my hands, ok."

"Ok mom," he said not feeling convinced. ""I'll just sit here and die of boredom," he sat down in his chair at stared at the black TV screen.

"No one's ever died of boredom," she told him.

"Then I'll be the first recorded case."

His mom let out a sigh. "Don't be such a drama queen." She turned to leave. "This will all be over soon, I promise."

"Ok," he replied. The door shut and he continued staring at the black screen. He wanted to believe his mom, he really did, but she had told him near enough the same thing several times over the years and it always ended with something going wrong with the project and that it would take even longer than expected. Still, he had hopes. At least if everything went alright he wouldn't be as lonely anymore.

As he sat there watching blank screen a though popped into is head. _Why don't you try opening the door again,_it said. _See what your mom is up to._ Leo didn't know where that thought came from, it wasn't his.

"Who's there?" he said to the empty room. But there was no answer.

Leo stared at the door for a brief moment before deciding to listen to the voice. It wasn't as if he had anything to lose by trying. Getting out of his chair he walked over to the door and reached for the handle. He had no reason to believe that this time would be any different but something was telling him otherwise. He took hold of the handle and turned it. It gave way and the door opened. That was unusual. In all of his life he had never known the door to be unlocked. Seeing no reason to turn back now, he stepped through the door and out of his room.

-00000-

He had stepped into a hallway not too dissimilar to his own room. Both were a sterile white colour with fluorescent lights at set intervals. The one thing that was different was the window in front of him, giving him a perfect view of the city below. He stared out of the window completely oblivious to anything but the cityscape in front of him. It was the first time he had seen a city outside of a TV screen and he was completely taken in by the sight of the buildings and lights.

_You're going to lose her,_said the voice in his head.

Leo snapped out of his trance and turned his attention down the hall. His mom was about twenty feet away, walking down the hall. She hadn't seen him yet, which was good. He took a deep breath and followed.

Followed his mom was harder that Leo thought it was going to be. _They make it look so easy in the movies,_ he thought to himself. There were security cameras and guards around every corner, forcing him to look for another way around them if he couldn't sneak past. This posed two problems. First was that his detour could take him in the completely opposite direction his mom was going, and second he had no idea where he was going. He could find himself at a dead end or worse in the path of a guard. If he got caught then the punishment he would receive would not have been worth the all this effort.

_Follow this path and you'll be safe,_said the bodiless voice. Leo didn't know why he was listening to the voice, for all he knew he was going mad and listening to the voice would put him in danger. Still it had been right so far, so he did as it said.

Following the path the voice had giving him, Leo lost sight of his mom. He thought for a moment that the voice had tricked him somehow. But he didn't run into any guards and there were no cameras in sight, so it was at least keeping him safe, for now. After a while he caught up with his mom again and saw her step into an elevator at the end of the hall; he also saw another obstacle in his path. Two guards stood on either side of the doors, both of them armed, and even if he could get past them there was an ID scanner to prevent any unauthorised personnel from using them. Leo had almost giving up there and then when out of the corner of his eye he spotted something that rekindled his hope.

The fire door leading to the stairs was open. Once he was sure the guards weren't looking his way he dashed to the door and continued his pursuit. He still had to check if his mom left the elevator but he could look out of the window of each door on the stairway without being seen. Unfortunately his plan didn't work out as expected. The elevator didn't stop at the sixth, seventh or eighth floor, it just continued its way up the building. Leo was on the verge of giving up.

_Don't give up; you're nearly there,_the voice told him. Steeling himself, Leo pressed on.

By the thirteenth floor he was completely exhausted and drenched in sweat. Looking out of the window of the stairway door he saw that the elevator was still going up. "Well Leo, any more bright ideas," he said to himself as he ran. "I know, why don't you listen to a voice in your head? You're not going mad or anything."

_Would you have rather stayed in that room, all alone, for the next two years?_The voice asked him. _Or do you want to experience freedom, if only for a little while._

"Who are you?" he asked the voice again, but there was no answer. He was getting annoyed with the voice, but it had a point. Even though he was exhausted he was enjoying himself. This was the first time he had been out of his room, and he was loving every last second of the freedom. Pressing on with what little energy he had he made it up to the sixteenth floor. Collapsing against the door he glanced out of the window. If she didn't get off here, or if he had missed her completely, he was pretty sure he was going to scream. But luck seemed to be on his side as his mom exited the elevator, opening the door he quickly followed her determined that, after getting this far, he would see it through to the end.

Following his mom up here was proving far more difficult up here. There were scientists and security guards everywhere and there seemed to be three times as many cameras. And to top it all off the voice had gone silent. Luckily he had one advantage. For once in his life he was glad of his short height and skinny build, as he could hide in places that no one else could normally do. He hid in-between coffee machines, under desks and even behind the odd guard or two. He saw her turn a corner and ran to catch up.

Peeking round a corner, he watched his mom walk up to a pair of large green metal doors with LAB 16 written on them in large white letters. Six security guards were positioned outside of the door – three on each side. She stopped five feet from the door and two of the guards stepped forward while the other four aimed their assault rifles at her head. The first guard held some sort of scanner to his mom while the other checked her ID. Once everything checked out ok the guards lowered their rifles, pressed several buttons on two consoles that were on either side of the door and returned to their original positions. The larges doors slid open noisily and his mom walked through. Once inside the doors closed again cutting off his view of his mom.

Determined not to be outdone by a door and half-a-dozen guards he looked for another way in. Backtracking a bit he found an air vent that looked just big enough for him to enter. Borrowing a screwdriver from a nearby tool box he unscrewed the vent cover, placed it to the side and was about to enter when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Standing not ten feet from him was the strangest man he had ever seen. The man was over seven feet tall, as thin as a whip and completely hairless. His skin was a sky blue colour and his eyes were like two silver orbs. He wore a silver Tibetan style monk robe and a matching pair of silver sandals. Leo and the Sky-blue man stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity.

He tried to look away but found it impossible. Suddenly his skin felt like it was on fire, he tried to scream but no sound emerged from his throat. The Sky-blue man just continued to stare at Leo while the pain consumed him. It was almost as if the Sky-blue man was burning him alive just by looking at him. As suddenly as it came the pain was suddenly gone. Leo's head dropped as he panted with relief and when he looked back up the Sky-blue man was gone. Was the Sky-blue man the the source of the voice in his head or was Leo just going crazy. Whatever it was Leo decided to ignore it, at least for now; he had more important things on his mind. Without a second thought he entered the vent.

Unfortunately for him it wasn't anything like the movies. In the movies the air ducts were always spotlessly clean and shiny and they could accommodate a full grown man. In real life they were dusty, mouldy and cramped. "Well Leo, this is another great idea you've had," he said to himself sarcastically. "Hey next time why don't you run head first into a wall, won't that be fun?"

After crawling around in the vents like a rat for ten minutes the sounds of voices drifted to his ears. Thankfully these weren't in his head. Following the voices his long excursion finally paid off as he came to a vent with a view of the lab. The lab was sterile white from top to bottom, like his room and the halls. Most of the machines and computers were pressed against the walls with a dozen or so scientists working on them with at least twice as many guards dotted around the place. Dominating the center of the lab was a large glass tank filled with a light green liquid, and something was floating inside it. Leo couldn't make out exactly what it was but it was humanoid in shape and big, very big.

Looking round the Lab from his high vantage point Leo caught sight of his mom working on one of the three monitors attached to the tank. While he couldn't see what she was doing he knew she was working hard. He heard a beep on the console and his mom pushed a button and a face he could barely make out appeared on the screen.

"What is it Mr Lord?" She said.

"Project Titan has become too much of a risk to continue with the experiment. I am activating Protocol One," said Maxwell Lord in a slight southern accent.

"But Mr Lord," she protested. "If we can just …" Maxwell Lord cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

"Are you refusing to proceed with Protocol One?"

"No Sir," she said defeated.

"Good," he replied. "Get it done, and I expect the paperwork to be on my desk in an hour." Lord's face disappeared from the screen. He had never heard anyone talk to his mom like that before, and he didn't like it. For the first time in Leo's life he felt anger boil up inside him, just waiting to burst free.

"Frank, Abby can you help me initiate Protocol One," He heard his mom say.

"Yes Doctor Cooper," they said in unison. Frank and Abby took their places at the two adjoining computers on either side of his mom and all three of them put on safety goggles. The three of them began typing furiously and the water inside the tank began to boil. Before long small sparks of electricity began dancing inside the tank, growing in size and intensity in seconds. Now great bolts over lightning were raging inside the tank frying the creature inside. He could hear it howling in pain.

Leo had mixed feelings as he watched. On one hand this was the coolest thing he had seen in his life, the way the electricity moved inside the tank was mesmerising. But on the other hand the creature inside was now being tortured and killed and it just didn't feel right to him. Regardless of how he felt there was nothing he could do to stop it and the spectacle had entranced him in a way that he couldn't move even if he wanted to. So he resigned himself to just watch and hope that the creature didn't suffer for much longer. Everything seemed to be going as expected the scientists expected, until a crack appeared in the glass, followed by another, and another.

"It's not containing it!" Alison said yelled fearfully. "EVERYONE GET BACK!"

The tank exploded and dozens of bolts of electricity were released into the Lab. One of the bolts torn through the equipment, reducing it to ashes, another struck Frank in the chest killing him instantly. Most of them harmlessly struck the walls, ceiling and floor. But one was aimed directly at the ventilation shaft.

"OH HELL!" yelled Leo as the bolt cut through the shaft like a hot knife through butter, missing him by a mere foot and a half. The ventilation shaft split in half and one end fell causing Leo to roll out and fall several feet, landing on one of the security guards.

"Sorry," he said to the guard as he got up. Rubbing his head he looked up at the remains of the air duct. "That was lucky," he said upon seeing the damage that the bolt had caused.

"I wouldn't be so sure kid," said the guard he had landed on.

"What makes you say that?" he asked. The guard merely pointed behind Leo. Leo turned round and saw his mom marching towards him with a face like thunder. "Oh crap."

"LEONARD COOPER," she shouted ""WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOU DOING. I SHOULD …" her outburst was cut off by a low, angry growl and all eyes turned to where the tank used to be, where its horrifying occupant now stood, free of its tank.

The creature was nine feet tall, very muscular, and had grey skin with black burns all over its body. It had long white hair growing out about halfway down the back of its head while the rest was completely bald. It had two small red eyes and very sharp teeth. It wore what looked like armoured trousers and boots.

"What the hell is that?" asked Leo with fear in his voice. But nobody answered him. They were all too stunned by the creature to move let alone talk.

The creature let out an inhuman roar that shook the room. The guards had overcome their shock and advanced on the creature, levelling their guns at its head. It began glaring at the guards as though it was trying to work out what they were.

"Leo we have to get out of here," said his mom grabbing him by the arm and half dragging him towards the door. She began typing the override code into the panel, just as the creature let out another roar and launched itself at the guards.

The guards opened fire but the bullets just squashed harmlessly against its skin. Reaching out the Creature grabbed the nearest guard by the head and with a mighty swing threw him into the far wall with enough force to crack it, killing him instantly. The Creature turned to face the other guards and, with a terrifying look on his face attacked them, swatting them like flies.

"WILLIAMS!" one of the guards shouted to another "GET THE SCIENTISTS AND THE KID OUT OF HERE NOW!"

"YES SIR!" she replied. "EVERYONE GET TO THE DOOR! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

By the time everyone got there Leo's mom had already opened the security door and everyone raced through. Once on the other side she typed in another set of codes and the door slid shut with a loud cluck cutting off the sounds of gunfire and screams.

"That'll hold it," said Williams. There was a loud bang and a large dent appeared on the door followed by another and another. "Damn it's getting through," she turned to the scientists,

"Get outta here we'll hold it off." The six guards that secured the entrance to the lab joined her in covering the doors as everyone else scattered.

Another series of booms came as the Creature pounded on the door, creating massive dents in it. "Come and get it you son of a bitch." The Creature punched the center of the door creating a large fist sized hole. The Creature peered through and Williams shouted, "OPEN FIRE."

-00000-

Klaxon alarms blared as Leo raced through the twisting halls with his mom in the lead. Gunfire and screams echoed through the corridors and they seemed to be following them, following him. Leo had never been so scared in his life, the way that creature looked at him had shook him to his very core.

"Where are we going?" asked Leo not caring where they were going as long as it was as far away from that creature as possible. The sound of a wall being smashed through came to his ears, and it wasn't far away.

"To the basement," she told him. "There's something down there with enough power to stop that thing."

They turned a corner and came to a dead end with a painting of a flower hanging there. Leo was about to point this out when his mom took out her ID card and held it up to the painting. A small green light came from the painting illuminating the card. The light blinked out the wall slid away revealing an elevator with what looked like reinforced armour plating.

"Whoa," said Leo.

"Stop gawking and get in," scolded his mom.

The two of them entered the elevator just in time to see the Creature smash its way through the wall on the far side and charge at them. His mom slammed her hand on the button and the door snapped shut cutting them off from the Creature. A large dent appeared in the door but the elevator quickly descended before the Creature could break its way through. Leo slumped against the wall and slid to the floor.

His mom bent down and put her hand on his shoulder "It's going to be alright Leo."

"What was that thing?" Leo asked trembling with fear.

"Project Titan, a living weapon mass destruction," she answered with guilt in her voice.

"Did you make it?"

"Yes," she sighed.

"Why would you make something like that?" he asked, horrified with his mother's answer.

"We were told that we were creating a super solider, that we would be saving the lives of our soldiers by instead of throwing them away," she hung her head in shame. "But when I finally learned the truth it was too late. The project would have continued with or without me. I thought that by staying on Project Titan I could try and change its mental programming, maybe turn it into a hero or something. But I guess I failed."

Leo looked at his mom with a newfound respect. She had only stayed to try and right her wrongs. "No mom, you didn't fail. Maxwell failed, and I know you're going to make things right."

She gave him a sad smile. "No Leo, I can't. But you can."

"What do you mean?" he asked, feeling confused.

"I'll tell you when we get there," she answered.

-00000-

The elevator finally reached the basement and the doors opened to a pitch-black room. Alison exited the elevator with her son right behind her. She flicked on the lights and the darkness retreated, revealing an old dusty lab with a huge egg shaped machine standing on the far side of the room. The machine was over ten feet tall and five wide. It was a blood red colour and there were silver stripes running from the base to tip. There was some sort of writing on the sides of it but it was in a language that Leo didn't understand.

"What is it?" Leo asked in wonder.

"Project Omega," his mom answered as she started to type on a console attached to the egg. "An alien device we found in the Providence Mountains in California. Your father was working on it before he died"

"Oh," Leo said, now feeling sad. "So what does it do?" A loud boom echoed somewhere above their heads.

"According to you father's notes it should fuse the alien DNA stored within it with anyone inside, granting them incredible strength and durability."

"Should?"

"We never had a chance to test it," she said. "Somehow it locked onto Mark's genetic code so it wouldn't work for anyone else who entered it."

"So why would it work for me?" he said before he realized. "It's because I'm his son." Another boom echoed through the Tower, this one closer than the last.

"Yes Leo," she said, her voice sounding tired and drained. "You're the only one this machine will work for." She finished the console's commands and the alien device opened up, revealing a cylinder shaped tank. Inside the tank, attached to a mechanical arm, was a large hypodermic needle with a strange red and black liquid inside. "Leo, I can't make you do this." she said seeing the uncertainty on her son's face. "You have to decide whether or not to go through with this"

Leo looked at the machine and was torn on what to do. If he went through with it he would have the power to stop that creature, but he wouldn't be a normal kid again. On the other hand if he didn't a lot more people were going to die.

Without another thought he said, "I'll do it."

"I'm proud of you Leo," she beamed at him. "You'll have to change into this," she handed him a red and black jumpsuit from within the machine that was several sizes too big. "You're going to get a lot bigger," she added at his confused look. He did as he was told and changed into the jumpsuit. "Good now step into the machine and I'll start the process."

Leo stepped into the alien machine, pulling up the legs of the suit as he did. The tank slid down over him, trapping him within. "Are you sure about this," he asked feeling nervous.

"Don't worry Leo, everything's going to be fine." She started typing on the console and the machine began making strange hissing sounds. He looked up and saw electricity crackling inside the syringe and the alien DNA began to bubble. "Just have to energise the serum to…" she didn't finish. Another boom shook the building and a large piece of rubble fell from the ceiling onto her head, rendering her unconscious.

"Mom!" Leo yelled. He banged against the glass as hard as he could with his fists, hoping to break it open so he could help her. But it was no use, he wasn't strong enough. He was trapped within an alien machine with no way out while a monster rampaged through the floors above. He wanted to cry, he felt so helpless, but he saw something move out of the corner of his eye that made him stop.

Walking out from the shadows was the tall unnatural form of the Sky-blue man he saw earlier. He walked over to where Leo's mom lay and stared down at her unmoving body.

"Please help her," Leo begged, knowing that his plea might be in vain.

The Sky-blue man reached over and pushed a button on the console and the machine sounded like it was going into overdrive. The serum was now glowing brightly and the mechanical arm slowly moved towards Leo. He then bent down and gently picked up Leo's mom. He looked back at the teen.

"Thank you," Leo told him.

The Sky-blue man nodded and in the blink of an eye he and Leo's mom were gone.

The mechanical arm reached Leo's neck and plunged the syringe into the back of it. Leo screamed like he had never screamed before. It felt like his whole body was on fire as the liquid coursed through his veins. His vision blurred, his hearing disappeared and he was paralysed with pain. His body began to grow, filling out to once too large jumpsuit. His bones snapped, lengthened and widened before reforming. His skin grew to accommodate his new build and height. His hair changed from light blond to blood red. When the pain finally subsided his eyes snapped open revealing that the sclera of his eyes had turned black and his iris had turn the same shade of red as his hair.

The tank opened and Leo fell out onto his knees, the pain was subsiding but he was still in agony. The ceiling above exploded in a shower of rubble and Project Titan fell through. The creature looked around the room before its eyes fell on Leo's still trembling body. Titan walked over to him, fist held high.

As Titan brought its fist down to crush Leo like an ant, the teen raised his own hand and caught the oncoming blow. Leo looked up at the Creature and growled, "Enough." He threw the creatures hand to the side. Leaping up, he struck it under the chin with all the force he could muster. Titan was thrown off its feet by the force of the blow and soared through the air and two floors. Surprised by his new powers, Leo couldn't help but gawk at what he had just done. Quickly coming to his senses, he leapt up after the monster to stop its rampage.

Unfortunately he wasn't used to his new powers yet and jumped through three floors more than he intended and landing on his back. "Well that could have gone better," he said to himself. A large hand broke through the floor beneath him, grabbed his left arm and pulled him down. He dangled there as the creature held him like a piñata. Not giving it any chances he swung his foot up and kicked it in the chin, causing it to recoil and drop Leo.

Titan regained its balance only to be football tackled by Leo who drove him through several walls. The monster stopped Leo's attack by picking him up with both hands and slamming him into the floor, the teen let out a grunt as he hit. Titan raised its fists and quickly brought them down to crush Leo's head. But Leo dodged it and it hit concrete instead. Bringing his legs up Leo kicked the creature in the chest with both feet, sending it crashing into a wall, bringing it and half the floor above it crashing down on its head. As the monster pulled itself from the rubble, Leo noticed for the first time that the building was on fire. Flames licked the walls around him and smoke filled the air. But none of this affected the super powered teen. His new powers appeared to have made him immune to them. However the rest of the Tower's inhabitants wouldn't have Leo's advantage. Once he had finished things with Titan he'd come back and help put out the fires.

Titan let out a roar and broke free of the rubble. It charged at Leo and threw his fist forward. Leo grabbed it and, using his strength along with Titan's momentum, swung the monster round and threw him downwards, sending him through eight floors. The sound of the concrete smashing beneath Titan bulk echoed through the entire building. Guessing that his newfound strength and durability would protect him from the fall, Leo jumped down after the monster.

Landing on the floor and cracking it, Leo surveyed the area, looking for Titan. He could see where it had landed but not Titan itself. A low rumble shook the building. "If we keep fighting like this we'll bring this whole building down on top of us," said Leo. A fierce roar came from behind him and Leo spun round in time to see Titan's fist collide with his jaw. The force of the blow caused him soar out of the building and into the city.

Leo crashed through an apartment building and a billboard for a new brand of toothpaste before landing in the middle of an intersection, creating a fifteen foot wide, eight foot deep crater. Leo opened his eyes and stared at the sky. "Well that hurt like crap," he said to himself. He could hear people shouting "what is that" and "is it safe" and other things to this effect.

Looking up he saw a grey meteor hurtling towards him. Realising what is was he rolled out of the way. Titan landed in the spot that Leo had been laying in just a second ago, crushing the ground beneath him and raising a lot of dust.

Leo could just see Titan's outline through the dust, and charged him. He struck it in the stomach knocking the wind out of it. Titan doubled over from the blow and Leo grabbed his head and brought his knee up to Its face. Titan was nearly launched into the air by the force of the blow, but Leo grabbed its leg before it could fully take flight. Leo reversed Titan's trajectory and smashed it face first into the ground, finally throwing it into the wall of the crater causing it to crack. Leo raced forwards determined not to give the grey-skinned monster a chance to recover.

Titan peeled itself out of the wall of the crater and charged at the oncoming teen. Both of them threw their punches at the same time and their fists collided, creating a shockwave that shook the ground beneath them, bursting an exposed water pipe. Storm clouds gathered as they fought back and forth inside the crater, lightning crackling across their surfaces. Neither one of them was gaining the advantage over the other. Titan was stronger than Leo, but the teen was quicker and far more agile than the hulking behemoth. For every blow Titan landed, Leo got two in. Water from the pipe was slowing filling the crater, splashing around their feet as the two of them fought on and the sounds of thunder echoed in time to their battle.

_This could go on all night,_ Leo thought. _Got to end this now before anyone else gets hurt,_Leo clasped both his hands together aimed a deadly blow at the monster's stomach.

But Titan seemed to anticipate this attack and brought its manhole sized boot into Leo's chest, kicking him as though he were a football. Leo left the crater at an incredible speed and slammed into an office building. He struggled to stand up, his body was wracked with pain, but he couldn't give up. He wouldn't give up. As Titan leapt up to finish him off, Leo threw an office desk at it, which it easily swatted aside. But this was only a distraction. Leo leapt at the monstrous super solider and grabbed it by the waist, sending them both flying out of the building and back onto the street below. Titan hit the ground first, with Leo landing on top of him.

Leo unleashed a barrage of punches into his opponent's face, trying to knock it out. But Titan was tougher than that and it caught one of the teen's punches before striking him in the gut with a blow of its own. Leo felt the breath rush out of him and before he could recover Titan punched him two more times before tossing him into the side of a car thirty feet away, crumpling it beneath the force of the throw.

Leo could feel his strength leaving him; it was only a matter of time before Titan killed him and turned his attention elsewhere. He lifted his head and saw Titan slowly making his way towards him. Leo let his head fall back and he stared at the storm clouds brewing above him. He didn't even have the strength to even look at his opponent. Many of his bones felt broken, his left eye had swelled shut, he had gashes all over his body, and to top it all of his jumpsuit had been cut to ribbons.

"Well at least I didn't die inside that stupid tower," he said with a grim smile on his face. Lightning began to race across the skies as he watched, Titans footsteps drawing nearer. He could hear people voices but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He wanted to tell them to run but he couldn't even do that now. His remaining good eye was heavy now but he refused to close it, he wanted his last moments to be of the sky. He focused on the lightning most of all. It seemed as though electricity was playing a big part in his life today.

Titan came into Leo's line of sight, obscuring half the sky with his massive bulk. It raised its fists, ready to deal the final blow to his foe. But before it could, the skies let rip and a massive lightning bolt shot down and struck Leo squarely in the chest. Suddenly Leo's strength returned, his wounds healed and he felt better than he had even done before. He had another power. He could absorb electricity.

Ripping himself free from the wreckage of the car, he was ready to continue his fight with the monster. "Ok freak, let's go for round two!" he yelled and noticed that Titan was now twenty feet away, glaring at him but not moving a muscle.

At first Leo thought that the lightning had knocked it back, but he soon dismissed this though when he recognised the look on Titan's face. It was one of fear. Then it all made sense. The scientists had used electricity to try and kill it, and when it saw the lightning strike it must have retreated away from it. Electricity was the key to stopping this thing.

"So you're afraid of a little lightning, huh?" he taunted it. "Well let's see if we can use that." Leo rushed the creature once more, this time with a plan, sort of.

Overcoming its terror, Titan met the blood-haired teen's advance with hatred in its eyes. When they were no more than ten feet from each other, Titan struck out at Leo's throat looking to finally kill his foe. But Leo was ready and he grabbed its arm and with a massive swing, threw him back into the crater they had recently left. Titan landed in it with a big splash and Leo jumped in after it. The water was now chest high on Titan which suited Leo's plan just perfectly.

Jumping on the monster's back, he locked his arms around its neck and focused on the storm clouds above. Somehow Leo had drawn the lightning from the sky just before Titan flattened him into a street pizza and he was trying to do it again, hoping it would be enough it finally stop the rogue experiment. But nothing was happening. Titan flailed wildly, trying to dislodge his unwanted cling on, but Leo held on as tight as he could and continued to focus on the lightning. Still nothing happened. Leo really hoped he wasn't wrong about this or else things were going to get real ugly real fast. Titan redoubled its efforts to get his monkey of his back. Leo concentrated on the lightning as hard as he could and just when he thought it was futile, the skies opened up, and let rip.

A stream of lightning bolts rained down from the heavens, striking Leo and Titan with god-like ferocity. Titan let out a primal roar as billions of volts surged through his body. Leo wasn't spared from this agony as the lightning burned his flesh as well. This was too much for even his body to handle. But he wasn't going to stop. He would take this monster down even if it cost him his life. So he relentlessly pulled more and more from the sky until he knew that the creature was finished.

After what seemed like an eternity the lightning stopped, the skies given all they had, and Titan fell to the floor dead. Leo had survived the ordeal but now he was as much pain as he was before. He removed himself off of the monster's back and slowly made his way over to the side of the now dry crater. He slid down against the wall, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was finally over.

"Hey kid, are you ok?" someone said. Leo looked up and saw a young African-American policewoman climbing down the crater towards him.

"I've been better," he told her when she reached him.

"You're hurt," she told him. "I'm calling you an ambulance."

"Thanks," he replied. "Did anyone else get hurt?" he asked her.

"No, everyone's ok. Thanks to you."

"That's good," he said closing his eyes.

"What's your name? Your hero name I mean."

Leo opened his eyes and noticed that a crowd was forming around the crater, staring at him. "Don't have one yet, first day on the job."

"Well you got to have a handle," said another police officer that joined them, this one a Caucasian man in his mid to late forties. "You can't go around without one, not with all that power you have boy."

He thought for a moment. "Powerboy, my name is Powerboy."

"Mari McCabe," said the woman.

"Dan Turpin," said the man.

"It's nice to meet you both," he told them. Off in the distance he could just make out Maxwell Towers, smoke and flames rising from it. He hoped the whole place burned to the ground, after all the damage it had caused. He only wished he could have gone back to help those still trapped within. His eyes began to feel heavy and his body felt drained. "I hope I don't sound rude but I just need to rest my eyes a minute." As soon as he closed his eyes he passed out.

-00000-

May 26th

06:10

When Leo came round he found himself in a very comfortable bed in an unfamiliar room. Light streamed in from a nearby window. He guessed he been out for several hours. Stiffly he sat up and took in his surroundings. The room he was in looked to be a cross between a hospital and a fancy hotel. A heart monitor was attached to his bare chest and there was an entire forest of flowers at the end of his bed with get well soon cards on them. On a table next to his bed were a large bowl of fruit and cheese and a pitcher of water. He suddenly became aware of how hungry he was and before he knew it the bowl was empty and the pitcher was dry. After his meal he, pulled of the wires, got out of bed and walked to the window.

Outside he could just make out the destruction that had been caused during his fight with Titan. On the whole it wasn't as bad as it could have been, he'd seen the damage caused by some of Superman's battles on the news and this was nothing in comparison. And those two officers had told him that no innocents had gotten hurt so it was a double victory in Leo's book. He caught sight of his arms as he looked on the city below and noticed for the first time that the wounds from his fight were gone. There was no evidence of electrical burns whatsoever, which made that a triple victory.

Leaving the window he explored his room a little. There wasn't much else in it that he hadn't seen already just two doors, one obviously for the bathroom, and a sink with a mirror above it. Walking over to the mirror he took a look at his reflection and for the first time he was impressed by what he saw.

There was very little left of what he used to be, he almost didn't recognise himself. He was tall, about six feet or so, and built like a heavyweight boxer. His light blond hair was now blood red and his calm blue eyes had been replaced by slightly sinister looking red on black. The only thing that hadn't changed much was his face. It was still mostly the same, though now it matched his new body. He was so fixated on his face that he almost didn't notice the black tattoo-like mark on his chest, just over his heart. It was in the shape of the symbol of omega – the last letter of the Greek alphabet – and inside that was what looked like an X with a line connecting the bottom two points. He didn't know what it meant but he could only assume that it was the result of the alien DNA he was injected with.

Taking one last look at himself he turned away from the mirror and looked back around his room. "So, where am I?" he asked. The room didn't look like a hospital and it was too sparsely decorated to be a fancy hotel. However he was only going by what he had seen on television, so he couldn't be sure.

"Why you're home, Leo," said a man's voice with a southern accent.

"Mr Lord?" he said recognising the voice. He looked round the room for him but he couldn't see the tycoon.

He heard the man chuckle. "Up here, the camera," Leo saw the camera in a top corner of the room. "I'm far too busy cleaning up after the mess you and Project Titan made to visit you in person."

"Hey, that wasn't my fault!" he yelled. "I was trying to stop it from hurting anyone else! If anything it's your fault for creating that thing in the first place!"

"I am not blaming you, son, quite the opposite. I want to thank you. Without you many more people would have lost their lives. You're a hero to everyone in this tower and the city."

"Umm… you're welcome," he said taken aback. He hadn't expected to talk to Maxwell Lord nor had he expected a complement from the tycoon. "Where's my mom, is she ok?" he asked after a moment's silence, worried about the answer.

"Alison is quite safe, though she is a little shaken up by the events that transpired last night. She's being looked after by the best doctors money can buy."

Leo let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god."

"Yes it was a miracle that she survived under all that rubble after Project Titan brought the roof down on her. But Alison is on her way to making a full recovery."

Leo stayed silent. He had seen the Sky-blue man save his mom just before the ceiling had collapsed. So either Maxwell Lord was lying or he had imagined the whole thing. And what about the voice that had guided him to Project Titan in the first place, was all of that in his head? Had gone mad after all the time spent alone? He didn't think that was the case. Something didn't add up but he didn't know what.

"Can I see her?" Leo asked keeping the question he had wanted to ask to himself. Whether or not Maxwell was lying he doubted he'd get the answers he wanted. And all he really wanted now was too make sure that his mom was ok.

"Of course, I'll arrange for you to meet her as soon as possible. But we need to run some tests on you first. To see the extent of your abilities"

"I just saved the city from a rampaging monster you created and you want to turn me into a guinea pig," he said feeling frustrated.

"Your DNA has been merged with that of an unknown alien race, and we need to ascertain if it's safe for you to be around other people."

In any other situation Leo would have gone along with the tests, he didn't want to put anyone in danger. But he had just saved the lives of potentially thousands of people, if not more, and he had put his life on the line. Now he felt as though he was being treated like a barrel of toxic waste.

"I want to see my mom, now!" he demanded and brought his fist down on the table next to his bed. The entire thing shattered under the force of the blow and fell to the floor in a heap. Leo stared at the damage he had just done with a look of shock. He had held back as much strength as he could and the table and it had still been reduced to scrap.

"That table was reinforced steel," Maxwell said. "It could have withstood a blow from a sledgehammer, and you destroyed it without even trying. What do you think would happen if you were around other people with your unrestrained strength? What would happen to your mother?

Leo didn't want to think about it. "Ok," he said desponded. "When do we begin these tests?"

"Whenever you're ready, son."

-00000-

On a building opposite the Maxwell Research Tower's a young African-American man watched Leo taking to someone out of his view. The young man was tall and very muscular, and more than ninety per-cent of his body was made of metal. The only visible part of his body that was still vaguely human was the right side of his face and his mouth. His left, robotic eye zoomed in on the red-haired teen, giving him a perfect view of his target, even though he was more than three hundred feet away. A beep in his right ear alerted him to an incoming call.

"Cyborg here," he answered without moving, not that he needed to. "The package is in sight, sir. Shall I retrieve him?"

"Negative," replied an older man's voice. "Maxwell Tower's is too well fortified to proceed with the mission. Abort and return to base."

"Sir, with all due respect, half of it was destroyed by that creature, and what's left is either on fire or abandoned. There are barely a handful of guards and scientists left, the rest are either dead or have fled. I'm pretty sure I can handle whatever security if left."

"We've detected a secondary defence system active with the building, and we don't know the extent of its capabilities. We cannot risk it without more Intel."

"Ok sir, returning to HQ ASAP, Cyborg out." he cut the connection. He stared at the window where the red-haired teen was now in a heated argument with someone. "I hope we never meet kid, for both our sakes." With those as he final words he left.

-00000-

June 18th

07:09

The last three weeks of Leo's life were the worst he had ever had. At times he almost wished that another rogue experiment would escape, just to brighten things up. While he had more freedom than he had before it wasn't much. He could now travel between his new room to one of the undamaged labs, but only with an armed escort and only when it was time to continue with the experiments, although the scientist called them examinations.

He did have more company that he had before, but they were scientists and guards. The scientists treated him as a thing and not a person and only talked to him when they wanted him to do something, and the guards never spoke to him at all.

But the worst part of all was his mom. She was one of the scientists working with him and at first he thought this was great. However he soon changed his mind. She was cold and distant and always seemed distracted by something. She had said that it was post-traumatic stress and that she was getting therapy but Leo suspected otherwise. It was as if she didn't know him anymore.

The only upside to all this was that he was slowly getting a hang of his powers and he was finding out his limits. And to keep his mind of off his mom he threw himself into one test after another.

The first tests they had done were on his ability to absorb electricity, the power he only discovered at the end of his battle with Titan. It turned out this was not the whole truth. It wasn't just electricity he could absorb; it was all forms of radiant energy. He could absorb heat, electricity, radiation, anything that could be used as a power source. But the distance he could absorb it from was only twenty feet. How he had pulled the lightning from the sky, the scientists couldn't explain.

He then learned that the amount of energy he had stored in his body determined how strong and tough he was. When fully charged he could lift between eighty and eighty-five tons and was practically invulnerable. When drained his was still three times stronger and durable than a normal human due to an increased body density, this also made him three times heavier than a normal person his size and build. They had created an energy meter for him to wear on his wrist to keep track of his power level, which to him looked a little like a high tech version of one of Wonder Woman's bracelets.

It was early morning and it would soon be time for another round of tests. Leo had finished his breakfast, which could have fed a family of six, and was now lying on his bed awaiting the arrival of the guards to take him back to the labs. He was still wearing the civilian clothes they had given him, dark blue trousers, red t-shirt and brown combat boots and brown leather jacket, even though they would want him in his new red and black jumpsuit, which hung in his wardrobe. These were the first normal clothes he had ever worn and he wanted to stay in them a bit longer.

He hated his life here, now more than ever, and he wanted nothing more than to leave. He was pretty sure he could leave anytime he wanted; it wasn't as if the guards could stop him. But he had nowhere to go and he hadn't fully gotten control of his strength yet, and he didn't want to put people at risk.

Letting out a sigh he laid there in silence, waiting for the guards. After a moment he became aware of a tapping noise coming from his window. Looking up he saw a bat sitting on the other side of the glass, tapping its nose against it. Leo got up and walked over to it.

"Hey little guy, it's a bit early for you to be up isn't it?" he said to it. The bat continued to tap against the glass, apparently wanting in. "I'd let you in," he told it, "but you'd hate it in here. You're better off out there." The back of the bat opened up and a small cylinder object emerged. It was then Leo realised that it was a mechanical bat. The cylinder fired a small laser at the glass and cut a bat shaped hole in it. It hopped in and opened its mouth. A light shone from it and a 3D hologram of a man in a black mask and cape appeared. Even Leo knew who this was. Batman, the Dark Knight.

"Powerboy," Batman's hologram said. "I'm putting together a team of heroes and I want you to be a part of it." he said bluntly. "I can't make you but if you choose to join follow the bat and it'll lead you to me. I can't tell you any more than this, anyone could be listening in. But the world is at stake and it needs all the heroes it can get." The hologram turned off and the bat sat there waiting for Leo to make up his mind.

Leo stood there frozen on the spot. He finally had somewhere to go, and if anyone could help with his powers it was Batman. "What am I waiting for," he said without a second thought. "Let's go Robo-bat." The bat left through the hole it came through and Leo followed right behind it, straight through the wall.

With a smile on his face he super-leapt his way through the city He jumped through city on top of the buildings to avoid accidently landing on someone on the streets below. Unfortunately there was one drawback to this.

"Oh hell," exclaimed Leo as he smashed through the same billboard he had three weeks ago. "Sorry," he shouted back and continued on, following the mechanical bat. He landed on top of a building and stared back at Maxwell Towers. From here it looked like a broken spire teetering in the wind, ready to fall down at any moment. Without another thought he gave the building a mock salute and left it behind.

-00000-

Maxwell Lord was sitting at his desk on the top floor, drinking scotch while sorting through some paperwork, when he heard the ruckus. Leonard had escaped from his room and left the building towards the city. Quite frankly he thought he'd have left sooner than this. A moment later his secretary entered.

"Sir," she said. "Leonard Cooper has escaped."

"I'm quite aware of that Ms Green," he told her calmly. "My ears work just fine."

"Sorry sir," she said chastised. "Shall I send the guards after him?"

"Don't bother; we have all the data we needed from him anyway. Besides the guards wouldn't be able to stop him anyway." he took a sip of his scotch. "Tell me, how is Project Titan's recovery going?"

"It's going well sir," she told him regaining her composure. "The research team says that Project Titan's wounds are fully healed and it appears stronger than before. They estimate a sixty-seven per-cent increase in its physical prowess. They currently have it in stasis and are ready to continue on your orders."

"Move Project Titan and the team to base five," he told her. "With the Tower in the state it's in we will be ill equipped, should we decide to do another field test."

"Yes sir, right away."

"And label it under a new project."

"What should we call it, sir?"

He thought about it for a moment and with dark smirk he said, "Doomsday."

-00000-

Leo had followed the robo-bat to a dark alley near the center of the city. Apart from a few garbage cans and a blue door that desperately needed a paint job, it was completely deserted. "Did you get lost buddy," he wondered aloud. He got his answer when it flew to the side of a wall and a section of it slid away, revealing a large silver and black tube. "Whoa, I guess not." Leo walked into the tube with the robo-bat and an orange light passed over his body.

**"Authorisation granted. **Recognised B28, Powerboy,"a computerized voice said and in a flash of light Leo was gone, transported to his destination. The wall slid back into place concealing the zeta-tube and returning the pretence of just another alleyway.

A rat scurried along the ground probing through the garbage for its next meal. A bolt of orange lightning appeared out of nowhere and, before it had time to react, turned the rat into a pile of ash. The bolt carried on until the end of the alley, where it disappeared with a fearful scream.

-00000-

What was the voice in Leo's head?

Who is Cyborg working for and what are their plans for Powerboy?

What kind of data did Maxwell get from Powerboy and what are his plans?

And what was the deal with the orange lightning at the end?

End of Chapter 01

I used a few characters from the comics in this chapter, and I was thinking of adding more that haven't appeared in the series yet. If anyone has any suggestions for any heroes and villains from the comics or other DC cartoons/movies that you think I should introduce then let me know in your review or PM your ideas to me.

Useless Trivia

I made seven other OC's for this fanfic before finally picking Powerboy. Some of which may appear in future chapters.

Powerboy's civilian identity comes from two of my favourite characters from The Big Bang Theory, Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper.


	3. To Dance with Death

**Please read the following notice before you read this chapter.**

**I'll be using my digital collection of DC comics as a bar for the language, violence and sexual themes in this fanfic series, especially the original Young Justice series. If it can happen in the comics it can happen in this fanfic. I'm just saying this to let everyone know what to expect.**

**Anyway on with the chapter.**

**This origin chapter is for JadeDragon220's character Riley Andrews. It's mostly the same as the original as I was happy with it but I have tweaked it a bit and extended the fight scene.**

**Chapter 02**

**To Dance with Death**

**Gotham City **

**May 25****th**** 21:16**

Riley Andrews lay on her bed, her long blond hair spread over her pillow, gazing up at the ceiling with her dark blue eyes, counting the cracks. There were only a few but she found it was a good way to focus her mind; she didn't understand why it did this just that it did. It also helped her clear away the frustration that dwelled inside her. She had had another "discussion" with her father about kickboxing lessons. He wanted her to take lessons but she thought that with her skills in karate and swordplay that learning kickboxing would be a waste of time.

This had led to them shouting at each other for thirty minutes before Riley stormed up to her room and locking the door behind her. Most people would call this an argument, but with her family a real argument could last days. The last argument she had with her parents had lasted almost four days, and that was over the use of her skills. Her parents thought that her skills should only be used for self-defence and sporting events and she agreed with them on that, but she also believed that her skills should be used to fight crime and help people. Her parents immediately shot this idea down and grounded her for two months. But she wouldn't be deterred from her conviction; she just bided her time until the moment was right.

Whilst staring at the cracks she listened out for her parents going to bed. Tonight was the night she was finally going to do some good with her skills. For the last two months she had been slowly putting together a costume for herself for the last two months, buying some bits for it and… liberating others from the school drama department. _They wouldn't miss them,_ she thought to herself. Her costume was hidden under a loose floor board, in a box in her closet, where no one would ever find it.

At exactly 21:30 she heard her parents walking up the stairs. She counted to ten and a knock came at her door.

"It's open," said Riley. She had unlocked it five minutes ago; knowing that if she kept it locked it would cause another "discussion", making it harder to sneak out.

The door opened and her father walked in. Standing at over six and a half feet tall with muscles that would put most bodybuilders to shame, her father was a very imposing man. His dark hair was greying round his temples, his face looked haggard after years as an MMA fighter and despite working out every day he still had a bit of fat round his waist. But he was not a man anyone would want and pick a fight with, not unless they wanted to be coughing up teeth for a week.

"Your mother and I are going to bed now Riley" he said.

From the tone in his voice, he was expecting her to continue their "discussion", but all she said was, "Goodnight dad," in a monotonous tone.

"I hope you will consider what we discussed."

"I will dad."

"Okay," he said with a slight hint of doubt in his voice. "Goodnight," he left the room and shut the door behind him.

Riley listened to her father's footsteps as they head to his room. She heard the faint sound of running water, and then silence. It would be about another twenty minutes before her parents were fast asleep, and she could get out. The seconds seemed to pass like minutes, and the minutes like hours. Every time she thought that enough time had passed, she would turn to the clock on her bedside table, only to find that only a few minutes had passed. It felt like an eternity had passed by the time she heard the sounds of her mother and father snoring. Smiling to herself she got to work. Tiptoeing over to her closet, she pulled her gear out and quickly and silently got changed.

Once she was dressed she looked at herself in her bedroom mirror, she was impressed with what she saw.

Her costume was a black skin-tight jumpsuit with a silver belt and a black domino mask with gold trim. She also put on a black leather duster with a dozen or so pockets on the inside. She had thought about wearing a cape, like her hero Batman, but her leather duster would be more suited to her style of combat, and besides it was much cooler.

Riley began attaching several knives to the belt, ranging from small throwing knives to a kitchen knife – Riley couldn't legally acquire any knives so she had to make do with what she could find. Topping the costume off she tied her hair into a ponytail, to keep it out of her eyes in the middle of a fight.

Riley took on last look in the mirror. The whole costume moulded itself to her lean, but well-muscled body. _Riley,_ she thought to herself._ Or should I say Artillery, you look badass. _And with that she picked up a large sports bag and left her room to collect the last piece of equipment she needed.

Sneaking out of her room, Artillery tiptoed her way to the stairs, stopping once she remembered about the squeaky floorboards that her parents had purposely installed as a security measure. They had several alarm systems installed in the house, but her parents said that these could be bypassed and so installed something that couldn't – unless the intruder could float that is. If she so much as put a toe on them it would wake her parents, and there would be no way she be able to explain why she was wearing a costume outfitted with knives without telling the truth. And then she would be ground for eternity.

But Artillery wasn't going to be dissuaded now. She threw the sports bag and it landed silently onto the living room sofa. She then scaled the banister and climbed down the outside of it. It was a long process but she made it downstairs without so much as a squeak. Picking up the bag she made her way to the basement.

Getting into the basement was easier than getting down the stairs, all she had to do was punch in a sixteen digit code. With a dull click the door opened and Artillery descended. Lights turned on automatically when she entered, illuminating the room. When her parents had bought the house the first thing they did was convert the basement into a training area and weapon storage. In the centre of the room was a twenty foot wide sparring ring, and along three of the walls was variety of three dozen weapons.

Looking at the ring bought back memories from the first time she had stepped foot in it, at just six years old, to when she managed to knock her father out of the ring just one year ago - he had went easy on her but that didn't make the victory any less meaningful. Shaking her head she brought herself back from memory lane and walked over to the back wall to get what she came here for.

Hanging on the middle of the wall was a set of three Dragonfly Swords, a katana, a wakizashi and a Tantō. Artillery reached out for the katana only to stop at the last second and choose the wakizashi instead – while she would have preferred the katana, the wakizashi was suited better for her height of five foot two – she placed the wakizashi into the sports bag, zipped it up and left the basement.

Closing the door as quietly as she could, Artillery walked to the back door, so as not to be seen by one of the neighbours, and ventured out into the city of Gotham.

**-00000-**

Her parents had picked their house's location very carefully. It was far away enough from the center that crime rarely touched this part of Gotham, but close enough that you could walk to it in just under an hour. Unfortunately for Artillery, who had to jump over fences and dodge the occasional dog, it had taken her half an hour longer than she expected the reach her destination, Crime Alley.

Despite the heroic actions of Batman, Batgirl and Robin, Gotham City was still one of the worst places on the planet to be at night. Criminals from thieves to murderers prowled the streets at this time, and no matter how many cops or caped crusaders that patrolled the streets, there were many that got away. And that's why Artillery was here, to help in stopping the criminals that ruined this city's reputation.

It was a cold, dark night in Gotham, the clouds overhead had all but obscured the glow of the moon. Artillery wound her way through the back alleys, looking for trouble. But no matter how hard she looked she couldn't find anything. There was no screams, no alarms, there wasn't even a bar brawl that she could break up. It was like every criminal in the city had taken the night off, which annoyed her greatly.

"Oh come on," she said out loud, trudging through another deserted alley. "Is it a national holiday for criminals or something?" It had been an hour since she entered the city and still there was nothing.

Suddenly she heard a woman's scream and ran off in the direction it came from. _Finally some action, _she thought andshe immediately scolded herself for thinking that, S_omeone's in danger and that's what you think? That's not what a hero would think. That's not what Batman would think_. And so she ran in silence hoping that whoever had screamed would still be ok when she got there.

It didn't take her long to find the alley the scream had originated from. Like most alleyways in Gotham it was cold, dark, creepy and seriously uninviting. Not letting it put her off of her duty; she took her sword out of her bag, unsheathed it and slowly made her way into the alley, leaving her bag hidden between two trashcans. She could hear whimpering coming from somewhere further down and she picked up her pace. Artillery stopped about halfway down, the sound of the sobbing was close.

"Well what do we have here?" said a man stepping out of the shadows.

"Looks like a would-be hero," said another man behind her.

"And a hot one at that," said another. Artillery felt her skin crawl.

The first man held out a tape recorder, the sound of a woman whimpering was coming from it. "Amazing what you can catch with the right kind of bait," he said switching it off. Artillery silently cursed herself for walking into a trap. She raised her sword in a defensive position but the man pulled out a revolver. "Ah, ah, ah, little girl," he said and Artillery stopped in her tracks. There was no way she could take on a guy with a gun at this range, not without a plan at least. "Drop the sword girl," he said menacingly, "or I'll drop you." Artillery grudgingly complied and the wakizashi fell to the floor with an audible clang.

"Great plan boss," said one of the two behind her.

"Yeah," agreed the other. "That sword looks like it will be worth a pretty penny."

"Boys take her stuff. Then get her in the car, there's probably someone who'd pay a fortune for a beauty like her." He smiled evilly and the last part.

Both men advanced on Artillery and she tensed up. She wasn't going to become some dirty man's toy, she'd rather die. She quickly formulated a plan and as soon as they were in range she sprang into action. She mule kicked the guy on the left in the groin, then spun round and struck out with an open palm, breaking the guy on the right's nose. Both men passed out from this fast and unexpected attack.

"Stupid bitch!" shouted the armed man. Artillery spun round just in time to see him pull the trigger.

Artillery dropped to the ground just as the gun fired, and the bullet sailed harmlessly over her head. She quickly pulled out the first knife on her belt – which turned out to be the kitchen knife – and threw it at Dave. The knife flew end over end, striking him in the head with its handle. The blow caused him to recoil and fire the second shot into the air. Artillery picked up her sword in a reversed position and rushed forward. She knocked the gun out of his hand with a kick, and then struck him on his nose with the sword's pommel, breaking it and knocking him out.

All three men were lying on the ground, unconscious and Artillery looked at them beaming with pride at what she had done. She had taken out three criminals, one of them armed, single handed and came out unscathed. It was something worthy of Batman. But her job wasn't done just yet. She walked over to where her bag was hidden and pulled out three pairs of cable-ties and bound the three loser's hands and feet together. As she finished the deed the guy who had the gun woke up.

"Urgh," he groaned. "Who are you?"

"The name's Artillery," she proclaimed. "And don't you forget it." She went to walk off before spinning round and kicking the man in the groin. "That's for thinking of selling me, you sicko." She walked away and called the police.

**-00000-**

Artillery knelt on a nearby rooftop and watched as the police came and took the men away. She could hear the men moaning about being beaten by a kid. She was annoyed about being referred to a child but she heard her one of them say her name and decided to let the insult slide. Soon all of Gotham would know her name. But this was only the beginning. She planned on being as big as Batman someday, maybe bigger.

She looked at the clock on her phone, it read 02:14. She should really make her way back home and get some sleep. But she could still feel the adrenaline pumping trough her veins, she wanted to do some more good before she had to retire for the night. _Besides,_ she thought to herself, _crime won't fight itself, well not all of the time._ Getting up, she turned to go when she saw the strangest man she had ever seen standing on the roof adjacent to hers.

The man was over seven feet tall, as thin as a whip and completely hairless. His skin was a sky blue colour and his eyes were two silver orbs. He wore a silver Tibetan style monk robe and a matching pair of silver sandals. The Sky-blue man stared right into Artillery's eyes and a vision played out in her mind.

Two women were standing across from each other, one was bright blue, and the other was crimson red. They formed swords out of energy of their respective colours and launched themselves at each other. Their fight was almost too fast to follow, they were little more than blurs. They struck out at each other with techniques that Artillery had never seen before, techniques that looked impossible to pull off. Gashes appeared on their bodies, glowing white before turning black. As they fought back and forth more cuts appeared, and neither showed any signs of slowing. As the battle reached its apex, both women charged at each other, swords pointed directly at their opposite's hearts. Their swords found their mark and both women slowly turned jet black before shattering into a million pieces.

Artillery snapped back to reality and, feeling very disorientated, fell to her knees. "What was that?" she asked. She looked back up at the Sky-blue man who was staring back at her with a curious look on his face. "Who are you?" She asked with a strained voice. The Sky-blue man replied by raising his right hand and pointed to the south. She turned to look at what the man was pointing at but couldn't see anything. When she looked back the Sky-blue man he was gone.

Standing up she turned on the spot but couldn't find a trace of the Sky-blue man. She looked in the direction that the man had pointed to. _Let's see,_ she thought to herself, _I could go home, happy that I've done a good night's work, or investigate whatever that weirdo was pointing at and probably walk into another trap. _She didn't even think about it for a second,_ Ah to hell with it, the night is still young and I'm still in the mood to kick ass. _With that last thought she picked up her sports bag and took off in search of whatever the Sky-blue man had pointed at.

Artillery ran across the rooftops as far as they allowed, but eventually she came to the edge of Crime Alley and had to stop. From her vantage point she could see Old Gotham, stretched out before her. As its name suggested Old Gotham was where the massive city it is today was born. As the city grew Old Gotham was all but forgotten, leaving it looking as it was in the nineteen-thirties.

She wondered silently to herself if she was close to whatever the Sky-blue man had pointed to. She got her answer almost instantly when she caught sight of him not twenty feet from her, still pointing south. She blinked and he had disappeared again. _Well I've come this far_, she thought to herself, and descended to the streets of Old Gotham below.

**-00000-**

The streets of Old Gotham were an endless maze of twists and turns that were easy to get lost in, as Artillery quickly found out as she turned a corner only to come to a dead-end for the fifth time. "For god's sake," she shouted. "How's a hero supposed to find her way around here with all these dead-ends all over the freaking place."

After half-an-hour of wandering round aimlessly Artillery was just about to give up and go home when something caught her eye. A street light outside of what looked to be an abandoned warehouse was glowing sky blue instead of its usual yellow. "Guess this is the place," she said to herself, and made her way to the warehouse.

As Artillery approached the warehouse several things stuck out that struck her as odd about the building. The first thing was that despite it looking abandoned the large front doors looked practically brand new and appeared to have been recently used. The second was that she could see a dim light emitting from the windows near the top of the building. Finally, and most obviously, there were three large trucks parked alongside the building with their engines still running.

She thought she'd better scope out the warehouse before she rushed in like last time. Sticking to the shadows, to avoid any unwanted attention, she made her way into the entrance of an alley that gave her a good view of the front doors and the trucks. Pulling out a pair of binoculars from one of the many inner pockets of her duster, she scoped out the warehouse. There were no guards that she could see – though she didn't rule out that there would be some inside – and the cabs of the three trucks looked to be empty. Next to the truck nearest the building she could see a ladder that led to a balcony and at the far end of it there was a door, and her ticket inside.

Putting the binoculars away, Artillery broke from her cover and ran towards the trucks. She leapt onto the bonnet of the closest truck, and then onto its trailer. From there she ran across it and the two adjacent to it and jumped onto the ladder and climbed up. Once she was up she ran silently across the balcony, keeping as low as possible, and towards the door. Luckily the door wasn't locked, and she slowly opened it and stepped inside.

She entered a room that looked to have been an office at one point, but now it was old and decrepit. Despite there being nothing of interest in the room, Artillery examined every inch of the room, just in case she had to fight in here. All that was in the room was a desk and chair – both of them matching the condition of the room – two large, dirty windows that took up most of the far walls and a single filing cabinet that had fallen on its side. The only other thing in the room was dust, lots and lots of dust.

While she examined the room the sound of grinding metal drifted to her ears. Keeping low, she slipped over to the windows and, peeking through them, she saw the extent of the situation below. Three large metal crates stood in the center of the room , with at least two dozen people down there; eight of which were armed with automatic weapons. The rest were crowded round one of three large metal crates trying to open it with circular saws, blowtorches and crowbars. Artillery noticed the word Cadmus stamped on the sides of each of the crates. She had heard that word before but couldn't remember where or what it meant. She opened the window as slowly and as quietly as possible so she could so she could listen to what was going on.

"Come on and get that crate open, you worthless assholes!" yelled a large built man.

"We're going as fast as we can Boss," said a rat-faced man, opening the crate closest to Artillery.

"Well it's not fast enough! Now move it before I give your head a new hole to breathe out of!" the Boss said, aiming his rifle at the man.

"Y-yes Boss," stuttered Rat-face.

"What's in these crates anyway," said a dark skinned man, who looked to be one of his enforcers. From Artillery's vantage point the Enforcer looked only a few years older than her and was quite handsome.

The Boss grinned, "Who cares what's in them, we're getting paid a million bucks for each one we hand over."

"Then why are we opening one?" asked the Enforcer, confused.

The Boss turned to him and replied "Simple, if whatever is in those crates is worth so much, then it stands to reason that we should keep one for ourselves." He turned from him and back to the crate, "I just wished we'd grabbed a few more of them while we were there." The Enforcer nodded though he seemed unhappy.

Artillery wanted nothing more than to jump down there and kick the crap out of all of them. But if she tried that now she would just get herself killed, she needed a plan. While she watched on, deep in thought, the men managed to get the crate open and the walls fell to the floor with a loud bang. The inside of the crate looked to have a skeletal structure, with four large pillars at each corner holding the top panel in place. Eight metal bars reached from the pillars and met at a large cylinder shaped object in the center. "PROJECT BLOCKBUSTER" was written on the side of the cylinder in large, bold letters.

"So what is it," asked the rat-faced man.

"That gentlemen, is none of your concern," said a monotonous voice.

Everyone, including Artillery, turned to face the newcomer. He was a tall man with white hair and a neatly trimmed beard who looked to be in his fifties or sixties, though with his build he could have easily passed for someone half his age. He wore a freshly pressed black suit with a white shirt underneath, a red tie and a pair of black sunshades. In his left hand he held a black suitcase and on his back was a sword similar to Artillery's.

"Who are you?!" shouted the Boss, he aimed his assault rifle at the man and his men followed suit.

The man in the suit didn't bat his eyelid. "My name is Wilson, and my boss is the one that hired you to retrieve the crates," Wilson paused and stared at the open crate, "Though I don't recall him asking you to open them," he said with a glare that could have frozen blood.

"I figured that I might keep one, seeing as they are so valuable," said the Boss. "Besides, this means you only have to pay me two-million instead of three."

Wilson narrowed his eye in contempt, "How about I pay you four-million and you and your goons walk away and forget you ever saw me and the crates." Artillery could hear the hatred in his voice and knew that this could escalate into bloodshed if Wilson got the wrong answer. The Boss rubbed his chin as he considered this new proposal. Artillery watched on and tried to come up with a plan, but she couldn't think of one that would work.

She could call the police, but there was no guarantee that they would get here on time. She could slash the tires of the trucks to slow them down, but Wilson may have brought his own transport which could be guarded, so that idea was out. She could turn around and go home, but with the chance that the warehouse was now being watched by whatever guards Wilson may or may not have brought, that was too much of a risk. The only option left open to her was to sit here like a lemon and do nothing. She didn't like it but seeing as she was outnumbered and outgunned it was the smart thing to do.

"I have a better idea," said the Boss, there was a glint in his eyes and Artillery knew what it was. Greed. "How about I kill you and take both the money and the crates. After all the odds appear to be stacked in my favour don't you think?"

"I would advise you to take the money and leave," Wilson said monotonously, "Before things get… unpleasant."

"Don't worry we'll be taking the money, but we'll also be taking the crates and your life. Now toss over the case, I don't want to get your blood on my money."

Wilson gave the Boss a dangerous grin, "If that's what you want." Wilson threw the case and it landed at the Boss's feet and exploded in a flash of white light. Artillery shut her eyes and ducked under the window to prevent the light from blinding her. She heard gunfire but it only lasted for a few seconds, then everything went silent.

She raised her head and glanced at the result of the fire fight. The Boss and all of his men were dead, each one with a single bullet hole in their heads or chests. Wilson still was standing in the same spot, but now he had a handgun in his right hand. Artillery was awestruck; she had never seen anyone with that level of skill, and judging by the gun, a Desert Eagle, he must have reloaded at least twice in order to kill everyone in the room. She involuntarily let out a gulp.

Wilson walked over to the open crate and began typing in a code on a panel hidden from Artillery's point of view. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of some movement. It was the Enforcer she saw earlier, still alive but badly wounded. He needed help, and just because he was a criminal didn't mean that he should be left to die. That's not what a hero would do.

Opening the door, she crept as quietly as she could, making her way to the stairs. Luckily for her the stairs were in better condition than most of the building and barely made any noise as she descended them. Not once did see take her eyes off of the white-haired killer. He still had that gun and unlike the last guy with a gun this one was experienced and Artillery was certain that her tactics from the last fight would proof ineffective here. But Wilson was too engrossed in the cylinder to notice Artillery sneaking behind him and towards the Enforcer.

"It's going to be ok," she whispered t to him.

"Who are you?" he groaned.

"Artillery," she replied.

"Lucas," said the Enforcer, wincing,

"Lie still Lucas, while I patch you up." She pulled out a handful of bandages from her duster's pocket and placed them on the Enforcers lap while she cut away his shirt so she could see the wound. Artillery blushed as she did this; he had an almost perfect body, not too slim and not too muscular and he was quite hot. She shook the thought out of her head and got back to the wound. The bullet had only grazed his left side but it was still bleeding quite badly. She quickly cleaned the wound as best as she could and patched him up. "Can you walk?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I think so." Lucas groaned

"Good then let's get you out of here." She helped him to his feet and put his arm around her neck to support him and picked her bag up. She was about to get him out when she saw Wilson standing there watching her and Lucas, smiling. "Oh Crap."

"A masked nurse?" he said curiously. "Now I've seen everything."

"Hey, I'm a hero not a nurse," Artillery retorted.

"There are no such things as heroes," Wilson countered. "Only fools."

Artillery glared at Wilson, "Can you make it out of here by yourself," she whispered to Lucas.

"Yeah I think so."

"Then get out of here, I'll take care him."

"But…" Lucas started to say but she cut him off.

"Just go!" she yelled and Lucas ran for the door.

"How noble of you," said Wilson, "But I'm afraid that nobility will just you killed, little girl."

Artillery dropped her bag, pulled her sword out of it and unsheathed it. "I am not a little girl!" she yelled.

"Only a little girl would get riled up over a comment," he taunted. The cylinder gave off a loud hiss and the metal bars attached to it retracted and pulled it into eight separate pieces. Inside was a stand with several dozen glass vials with strange blue liquid inside it them. Wilson turned from Artillery to the vial, "Ah, I see that I didn't kill these men for no reason."

Artillery saw her chance and rushed him, sword in front of her. She didn't care about being fair or about honour at this point, all she cared about was stopping him and whatever he had planned for that vial. She leapt into the air and swung her sword down, aiming for his shoulder. Wilson spun round at the last possible second, dropping his gun and unsheathed his own sword, deflecting her attack. She landed off balance which allowed Wilson to strike out with his fist and smashed her in the side of her head.

Artillery spun with the force of the blow but managed to stay upright and retreated away from Wilson, while keeping her eyes on him. Wilson dropped into a fighting stance and Artillery knew right then that he was far more experienced than anyone she had ever seen. But she had the skills to beat him, she just knew it.

"Well little girl, time to die." Wilson charged as her, aiming his sword at her midriff. Artillery jumped back to dodge the attack but it was a feint and once again he punched her, this time in the chin. The strike knocked her off her feet and she landed on one of the dead bodies. She quickly rolled to the side as Wilson stabbed into the place her head had just been and swung her sword at his head. Wilson blocked the blow by pulling his own sword back with blinding speed, then countered with a kick to the blonde's chest as she pulled herself back up. In agony she retreated and pressed her hand to her ribs. It was painful but it wasn't broken.

Ignoring the pain, Artillery charged at Wilson again, striking out at his feet. But he blocked the attack and countered with another strike to her head. But she was ready for it. She leapt to the side and swung her sword at his chest. Wilson narrowly dodged the blow, taking a shallow cut, and flicked his blade out, stabbing Artillery in her left shoulder. She recoiled from the pain and stumble a few feet backwards before she could regain her balance. Not taking her eyes away from the fight she quickly ran a finger over her wound and winced. It wasn't as deep as it would have been had he had been closer when he struck and it wasn't life threatening, but it still hurt.

"Is that the best you got," she taunted him. "Cos if it is you best give up now and save yourself a world of hurt."

Wilson gave a laugh. "You are an amusing little girl and you have some skill, it would be a shame to kill you. So I'll make you a deal."

"What sort of deal," she asked, buying time to come up with a plan to defeat her more experienced opponent.

He held out a hand. "Come with me and become my apprentice, and I'll show you the true extent of your abilities."

Artillery was so disgusted by the notion of it she couldn't hide it from her face. "And become a criminal like you? Thanks but no thanks creep. I think I'll take my chances on my own."

"With that attitude, your chances aren't looking so good." He raised his sword and the two combatants began to circle each other.

He was toying with her, that much she knew, and he could have killed her at least half a dozen times by now. But he was underestimating her and that would be his undoing. Knowing that another offensive attack would be useless Artillery fell into a defensive stance and waited for Wilson's next attack. All she needed was one opening, one chance and he would be finished.

Wilson moved forward and struck out with short, fast strikes. Artillery courted these by keeping her blade close to her body, slapping the deadly blade away with the flat of her sword. He changed tactics to strong, two handed sweeps and Artillery adapted by guiding them away from her, keeping her own sword as far away as possible to prevent the attacks from using her previous form against her. Wilson took two steps back and held his sword to the side. He put all of his power into one blow and struck out for the teen hero's head. Artillery stepped back and moved her blade in front of her to block the attack, but Wilson's blade cut her own cleanly in half, the top half falling to the floor.

Artillery jumped back and stared in disbelieve at her broken sword. Her blade was made of reinforced dia-steel and no non-metahuman should have had the strength to break it, even with a sword made of the same material. But he had, and that meant one of two things, one he was a metahuman or two his sword was made out of a stronger material than her sword. Snapping out of her daze, she suddenly remembered she was in the middle of a fight. Wilson hadn't moved, he had been too busy, staring in amusement at her plight.

Artillery reached for her belt and grabbed a handful of knives and threw them at Wilson. But he easily swatted them aside with his blade and caught two of them with his left hand. He smiled and returned them to their owner. The knives missed Artillery's head by mere millimetres and imbedded themselves in the wall behind her.

"Amazing what they teach you in the army," he taunted her.

It was then Artillery knew she was outmatched. Before she believed she could take him, but now that had all changed. Not only was he more skilled, and more experienced but he had been trained by the best and had a tactical mind to match. He had probably planned this entire fight out in his head the way a champion chess player would. But Batman wouldn't give up and neither was she, not now, not ever. No matter the outcome of this fight she was going to do her duty as a hero and stop this criminal before he could hurt anyone else.

Artillery pulled another knife from her belt – the kitchen knife she used earlier – and held it in her left hand. She rushed forward, duel wielding her broken sword and knife. She knew she couldn't outfight him and she definitely couldn't outthink him but there was one weapon she had that he didn't. Her mouth. Her father had once told her that verbal attacks could be as strong as any weapon you wield, as long as you knew how to use it. And she did know how to use it.

As soon as she was close he jabbed his sword at her head and she moved at the last moment. "Come on old man, is that the best you can do?" she taunted him. "I've seen blind guys with more accuracy than that."

"You have no idea who you're dealing with, little girl," he growled.

"Yeah I do," she countered. "I'd dealing with an old man, way past his prime, who thinks that just because he got a few lucky hits in, he's big stuff." Wilson lashed out with his sword three times and Artillery parried the first and dodged the second and third. She took two steps back before continuing her verbal assault. "But you know what? You're all bark and no bite, did you leave you're dentures at home or something?"

"Little girl, you are beginning to annoy me."

_Good,_ Artillery thought. _Let's see if I can really annoy you._ She ran at Wilson, blades in front and attacked him with fast jabs and thrusts, pushing him on the defensive, then switching to acrobatic moves, using her smaller frame as an advantage. "You're too slow old man," she said when his blade missed the top of her head by half an inch. "Maybe you should lie down and battle with some hard boiled candy." She dodged another blow this one missing her by an inch.

"Be silent, little girl," he snarled, frustration growing on this face and in his voice. He swung his sword wildly at her.

"Well I have to shout so you can hear me, old man," she jumped back and slashed at him with the knife, missing him, but it was close. "You're hearing must be going as well as you skill. Do you want us to stop so you can catch your breath?"

She could see it in Wilson's face. Even with all of his skills and training he was getting riled up, and it showed in his attacks. They were slower, more clumsy and easier to anticipate. The difference in their skills was now evened out and Artillery now had a chance. She pressed the attack switching between offensive and defensive styles to try and keep him off-balance, while throwing more abuse and insults his way.

She threw her knife and it caught the solider in his left shoulder. He howled with pain and rage and Artillery ran forward to finish the fight. But she had been too hasty and once she was within range he struck her in the face, breaking her nose. Artillery hit the ground hard and it was only by pure instinct that she rolled to the side instantly, dodging another strike, and stabbing Wilson in his left thigh with her broken sword. Wilson let out another cry of pain before grabbing Artillery by her neck, lifting her up and throwing her into one of the crates. It was Artillery's turn to cry out as she felt three of her ribs break upon impact.

There was a clatter of steel as Wilson tossed Artillery's sword and knife to the other side of the room. She turned her head to see him slowly advance on her, sword in hand, ready to make the killing blow. She tried to push herself up but struggled to do so. In her attempt to get up her hand brushed against her last hope of survival. Wilson grabbed her by her neck, pinned her to the crate and started to choke her.

"Time to die little girl," said Wilson monotonously.

"You… first…" Artillery choked as she raised Wilson's discarded handgun and shot him in his right eye at point-blank range. Wilson's lifeless body fell to the ground pulling Artillery down with him, and they both with the ground hard.

Artillery lay there in agony, blood pouring out of her nose, but all she could do was laugh. She had saved someone's life, faced a mass murderer who was stronger, faster and more skilled than she was and not only had she survived but she managed to beat him as well. She hated the idea of killing someone but she had had no other choice other than to let herself be killed, and she wasn't going to let that happen.

Using what little strength she had left, Artillery got to her feet and limped over to where her broken sword laid and not too far from it was the other half. Every step was torture on her body but she forced herself to keep going. She picked up the two halves of her sword and sheathed them. With everything accounted for – except her bag which she had chosen to leave, being too awkward to carry now – she went to leave but stopped after three steps.

Artillery turned to the vials of blue liquid and staggered over to them, making her way through the sea of dead bodies. "You've caused a lot of problems tonight," she said to them. Artillery picked them up one by one and dropped them to the floor before crushing each one beneath her foot. "You can't cause any more trouble now." She wanted to destroy the other crates as well – assuming they both had vials in them – but didn't have strength or the time to do so. It was 04:12, which meant that she had just less than two hours to get home before her parents woke up. Though she was baffled on how she was going to explain her injuries. She would worry about that later, right now she needed to get out of here and call the cops.

Artillery was just about to leave when she heard someone groaning. Her face turned white when she saw Wilson getting back up. "No. Freaking. Way!" she said disbelievingly, emphasizing each word. There was no way he could have survived a bullet to the head, it was impossible. And yet there he was, alive and most likely pissed, very pissed. The front doors lay just past him but there was no way she could make it to them before he got up. The only way out now was back to way she came. For the first time this night she felt truly frightened.

She hobbled her way to the stairs as fast as she could but she slipped on something round and fell on her back, hitting her head of the floor in the process. Her vision blurred and her head was pounding but she pushed past the pain and slowly got back up. Two feet in front of her was the object that she had slipped on. Seeing how it might prove useful if Wilson caught her she grabbed the object and moved as fast as she could towards the stairs.

Climbing the stairs was difficult as every step she took sent a wave of pain through her body, but she finally made it to the room. She shuffled over to the window and freedom when a hand grabbed her by the hair and threw her backwards. She hit the wall hard and she let out a scream. Looking up see saw Wilson standing over her, his face full of rage. His right eye had been completely destroyed by the bullet and a river of blood was oozing down his face.

Artillery stood used the last of her strength to stand up and with a chuckle said, "Hey that's a good look for you."

Wilson rage exploded and he drove his fist into her chest. She nearly passed out as another rib cracked. He punched her across the face and knocked out two teeth. Artillery tried to fight back and aimed a fist at his face but he caught he wrist had threw her across the room towards the window. Artillery began to laugh as she painfully pushed herself up for one last time.

"What's so funny!" growled Wilson. She gave him the finger and hanging of off the finger was a pin. Something rolled at is feet and when he looked down his remaining eye shot open. The object that artillery had picked up was a grenade, and it was now lying at Wilson's feet.

Artillery smiled, "Bang." The room exploded into a fireball and the force of it blew Artillery out of the window and she landed painfully onto the street below and lost consciousness.

She didn't know how long she had lain there, spread-eagled on the street and nor did she care. Her entire body was in agony. Most of her skin had been burnt off in the blast and it felt like every bone in her body was broken. She managed to open her eyes and looked at the destruction that she had caused. The entire building was aflame and the room she had been violently ejected from had been disintegrated in the blast. _Well at least I can be sure he's dead now,_ thought Artillery.

She blinked and the Sky-blue man was now standing over her. Artillery tried to speak but her throat was badly burnt so all that came out was a raspy moan. The Sky-blue man reached down and pressed two of his fingers to her head. The pain was suddenly gone and she sat bolt upright and examined herself. Not only had the Sky-blue man healed all of her wounds, he also repaired all of her clothing and equipment. Her sports bag lay next to her and sticking out of it was not only her sword, which had also been repaired, but Wilson's as well.

She turned to the Sky-blue man, who just stood there and stared at her, which she found creepy. She wanted to shout at him for getting her into that situation, for nearly getting her killed and for everything bad that had happened tonight. But she couldn't find the anger to do so. Despite all that had happened she actually felt grateful towards the Sky-blue man. He given her the chance to experience what being a true hero was like, and that was something she would never forget.

Artillery was about to thank him when he pointed towards her watch. It read 5:30. Her parents would be up in half an hour. "Oh hell," she shouted. "There's no way I can make it home in half an hour. What am I going to do?" The Sky-blue man pressed his finger to her head and reality dissolved around her. When it reformed she found herself in her room.

She looked around with a mystified look on her face, she couldn't believe she was her room. She turned round to thank the Sky-blue man but, once again, he had disappeared. "Show off," she said with a smile.

Artillery stood there for several moments before it occurred to her that she should change out of her costume before her parents woke up. She went to get changed but found that she was already in pyjamas. She was back to being plain old Riley again. She found that her costume was back in its hiding place and she was willing to bet that if she looked she was sure she would find that the sword was back in its original place. The only thing out of place was Wilson's sword which now lay on her bed. She swiftly placed it in the wardrobe with her costume and once she had done that she collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep.

**-00000-**

**New York City, N.O.W.H.E.R.E. R&D**

**May 27****th**** 14:55**

Zaniel Templar strode through the halls of the base, on his way to the medical wing, where Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke the Terminator, was recovering. Templar was a tall man with black hair. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark glasses. He wore a black trench coat, black trousers and black shoes. He was known by the scientists as "The Shadow" for his choice in clothing and his ability to seemingly appear out of thin air.

After reading the mission report, Templar had hoped that Deathstroke had died after the gunshot and explosion. But they found him alive, though he was little more than a charred corpse. By sheer force of will he had managed to survive, but more importantly he had managed to obtain two of the three crates containing the Blockbuster formula. Templar wasn't impressed with this man, but the Boss was and that's all that mattered.

The formula in itself wasn't important. It was the catalyst that triggered the transformation that the Boss wanted, and Deathstroke delivered it right into his hands. His scientists had reverse engineered the formula and had combined it with their own serum. And Deathstroke was to be their first test subject, whether he was willing or not.

Upon entering Slade's room he saw the world's most dangerous assassin hadn't improved much since his last visit. More than half of his body was still burned and he was still hooked up to several machines that kept him alive. Even his Boss's advanced technology could only do so much in the hands of primitives. The doctors and nurses backed away from Slade's side as Templar stepped forward.

"Well, well, Slade, you seem to be worse for wear," he joked. The one-eyed assassin opened his one remaining eye to stare daggers at him. "And you seem to have lost you eye again. After all the trouble we went through to regrow it for you." Deathstroke let out a growl and Templar grabbed the man by his shoulder and squeezed it tightly, earning a wince from the man. "You're lucky you got the job done, _Deathstroke_," he said with venom. "Otherwise you'd have been just another body to be disposed of." He let go and Deathstroke gave a small sigh of relief. "And if it were up to me I'd have left you to die regardless of your success. You're too much of a liability in my books, considering your past." Templar pulled out a small box containing a hypodermic needle. "But the Boss says otherwise. He wants you to be the first test subject of this serum and when the Boss says jump we jump until he's satisfied."

"Sir, I can't consent to this," said one of the female doctors. "That serum could very well kill my patient."

Templar shrugged. "If he dies, he dies," he said uncaringly.

"But…" that's as far she go when a black tendril lashed out from beneath Templar's coat and removed her head from her body.

"Does anyone else have a problem with this?" he asked coolly as the head landed on the other side of the room. Everyone else shook their head. "Good," he stared at the doctor's lifeless corpse. "It's a shame to waste such a perfectly good tool, but she knew what happens to people who question the Boss's orders." But he didn't mean it, he had enjoyed killing her and now the world was one righteous fool short. In his own twisted mind he had just done a service. "What about you Slade," he said him. "Are you going to go against the Boss's orders?"

Deathstroke lifted his head up to look the psychopathic metahuman in the eye. "Will… it… help… me… get… revenge?" he asked, struggling with each word.

"If you live," Templar answered.

"Then… what… are… you… waiting… for? Do… it"

Templar complied and plunged the needle into the killer's chest and Deathstroke's entire body convulsed violently in his bed for several seconds. At first it looked like the serum was working but then the assassins body went still and the heart monitor let out a continuous beep, declaring he was dead.

"Well, back to the drawing board," he said unsympathetically and turned to leave the cowering doctors with their new carcass. He didn't make it two steps before the heart monitor began to give out a rhythmic beep. He spun back to the bed to see Deathstroke's wounds rapidly healing before his eyes. Taking out his phone he dialled up the Boss and said just four words. "Boss, it's a success." Deathstroke's eye snapped open, and it was filled with rage.

**-00000-**

**Gotham City**

**June 18****th**** 07:09**

It had been more than three weeks since Riley's first adventure as Artillery and it hadn't been her last. Despite almost dying on her first night as a hero, she had been out almost every night since. While none of her excursions had been as eventful as the first she had managed to stop several muggings, a kidnapping and save the lives of a couple who had accidently wandered into gang territory. All in all she was really enjoying her new secret life as a hero, though she could do with a bit more sleep now and again.

She sat in in living room eating a bowl of Cheerio's and watching another news report about the super-powered teen called Powerboy saving Cincinnati from a monster. She had seen it about half-a-dozen times now but she watched it again. Most of the footage had been from a camera phone and it wasn't a very good quality but she could make out a hulking grey monster battling a guy with blood-red hair. The rest was mostly thanking Powerboy or others speculating and debating on whether Powerboy was really a hero or not. Riley didn't need to guess, she knew the guy was a hero. Anyone who'd battle something like that to save people was a hero in her book, regardless of the collateral damage.

Riley raised her spoon to Powerboy. "Good job PB," she said. "Now there are two new heroes out there." She didn't need to worry about her parents hearing her; they were away until the weekend, her dad got two front row tickets to the World MMA tournament over in and took her mom to go see it. Despite his reluctance to leave Riley on her own she had managed to talk him into it, though how she couldn't remember. After the news about Powerboy the thing she had been waiting for the past three week's finally happened.

"And now the local news," said the reporter. "It appears Gotham has yet another masked vigilante walking the streets. The woman who goes by the name Artillery has thwarted a number of small crimes around the city, mostly in Crime Alley."

"And one big one!" Riley argued, though she was pleased about being referred to as a woman not a "little girl".

"While not much else is known about this new vigilante, Police Commissioner Gordon had this to say."

The scene cut to one of an old man with white hair and a moustache standing in front of the police department. "While she is operating outside the law, the police of Gotham City have worked with vigilantes such as Batman and his sidekicks for years and I have to say that the streets are much safer with them around. So if this Artillery wants to help then she has my support, so long as she doesn't cross the line."

The scene cut back to the reporter. "That was Police Commissioner Gordon's opinion, so what do the people of Gotham say? Visit our website and say what you think of Gotham's new hero."

Riley turned the TV off and was so happy with what she heard that she did a little dance around the living room while she cleaned up after herself. Once she had finished she went upstairs and set to work repairing the damage to her costume. It didn't take long to finish the repairs; there was barely any damage at all, that gave her the rest of the day to herself. With nothing to do until nightfall, Riley decided to have another look at Wilson's sword, well her sword now.

Taking it out of the cupboard, she held it in her hands and looked it up and down. For all intents and purposes it was a regular Dragonfly Katana, similar to the one in the basement, but there were a few major differences. First of this sword and a silver hilt and guard, and the image of a bird was engraved into both sides of the hilt, just under the leather grip. It looked like a crane or something similar. Second was that the sword was extraordinarily light, weighing about the same as a Tantō. Finally it was made of a metal that was tougher than reinforced dia-steel, and able to cut through damn near anything.

Riley had used this sword on all of her recent excursions as Artillery. It had took a bit of training to get used to the longer, lighter blade but now she was as good with it as she had been with the wakizashi, if not better.

A tapping noise came from her bedroom window and Artillery nearly had a heart attack. She thought someone had been watching her and with her costume out in the open they'd have discovered who she was. But as it turned out it was just a bat making the noise. She opened the window to shoo it off but before she could it flew in and landed on her desk.

Before Riley could do anything the bat opened its mouth and a light shone from it. It wasn't a real bat, but a robot one. A 3D hologram of a man in a black mask and cape appeared. She knew who this was and her knees turned to jelly. Batman, the Dark Knight was in her bedroom. Ok it was hologram but still he was in her room.

"Artillery," Batman's hologram said. "I'm putting together a team of heroes and I want you to be a part of it." he said bluntly. "I can't make you but if you choose to join follow the bat and it'll lead you to me. I can't tell you any more than this, anyone could be listening in. But the world is at stake and it needs all the heroes it can get." The hologram turned off and the bat waited for Riley's choice.

It didn't have to wait long. The second Batman said he wanted her to be part of a team she ran round her room and packed everything from her gear to her half of her clothes. In her excitement she almost packed her computer as well. Once she had finished she had filled two shoulder bags and a backpack. _Best to be prepared for anything_, she reasoned.

"Well what are you waiting for bat," she told it impatiently. "Move, move, move." The bat flew out of the house and Riley followed.

**-00000-**

Riley followed the bat for about twenty minutes and had taking a cab and two buses just to keep up with it, but finally the bat had led her to her destination. it was a deserted alleyway, with several trash cans and a an old, disused phone box.

"This better not be someone's idea of a prank," she said, as the bat lead her to the phone box. "Otherwise someone is getting their ass kick from here to New York City."

The bat hovered at the phone box, wanting Riley to open it. She did and the bat flew inside, riley followed. The phone box's door shut and a computerised voice spoke. **"Authorisation confirmed. Recognised B29, Artillery."** in a flash of light she was gone, transported to her destination.

A bolt of orange lightning raced through the alley and struck a garbage can, causing it to age and rust. It continued its path and disappeared at the mouth of the alley with a scream.

**-00000-**

**End of chapter 02 **


	4. The Power of Hope

**All translations are done through Google Translate. So if they are wrong don't blame me blame Google.**

**This origin chapter is for HGM67's character, Marcus Rodriguez. **

**Chapter 03**

**The Power of Hope**

**Barcelona, Spain **

**May 26****th**** 03:16**

Marcus sat on an old crate, out the back of a restaurant, waiting for the meals that the manager was donating. Marcus was of average height for a sixteen year old, but his skinny build made him look lanky. He had tan coloured skin, spiky brown hair that almost reached his neck and brown eyes. He was wearing a green button-up shirt with two darker green stripes that came down over the shoulders, khaki cargo shorts, and brown sandals. Sitting next to him was his backpack, which he would be using to carry the food in. It was old but still in good condition.

It was pitch-black outside, the sun wouldn't rise for another three hours, but this was the best time to do a food run. The night hid the good as well as the bad.

He, his friends and several other volunteers were part of a group called Los Corredores, whose job was to deliver food, donated by several restaurants and supermarkets, to the people of Esperanza Perdida. Esperanza Perdida was actually the western part of Barcelona, but a year ago an earthquake of almost biblical proportions hit it reducing most of it to rubble. Some people left the destruction behind and moved to better parts of the city, but more than two thirds of the citizens had lost everything. They couldn't afford to leave and there was barely anything there to live on, and so they suffered, unable to do anything about it.

At first the rest of the city tried to help but after a month with little to no progress they cut ties with them and left them to suffer. They had given many excuses, that it would bankrupt the city, the damage was too extensive to repair, it would be impossible to rehouse the people. But these were all lies.

The truth was that a powerful mafia called La Muerte moved into Esperanza Perdida not long after the earthquake and began to use it as their base of operations. The gang had entrenched themselves so deep in Esperanza Perdida that it would be impossible to remove them without hurting the citizens. They quickly took over the district and its leader set himself up as the mayor, though in reality he was nothing more than a dictator, and set up several laws, enforced by his men, to prevent its citizens from leaving, thereby solidifying his hold and stopping anyone from interfering. And it didn't help matters that the leader had several government officials in his back pocket.

But Marcus and Los Corredores were determined to make a difference, even if it was just a small one. Hope was a powerful emotion; all it needed was a spark to start it off.

The minutes dragged on for Marcus, and to him they felt like hours. Marcus had ADHD and because of that sitting still for any length of time was like torture to him. The only thing that kept him sane was the drawing app on his phone. Marcus loved to draw and when he wasn't playing football (soccer) or hanging round with his friends, he was drawing.

He had just finished drawing two Chinese dragons with the symbols of hope and courage on their heads, entwining with each other when Mario, the manager of the restaurant, stepped out of the back door with five sealed trays of food, each with a name and address on them. The trays were light enough that Marcus could carry them with ease, and yet durable enough that he could run with them if he needed to, and even take a fall or two, without spilling all of their contents.

"Here you go Marcus," said the portly manager. "Five freshly cooked meals ready to go."

"Thanks Mario," Marcus said taking the meals and placing them in his backpack. "A lot of people are grateful for all that you have done."

"You're welcome," said Mario. "Just be careful, word on the street is that the La Muerte are coming down on Los Corredores and anyone associated with them."

"Don't worry, we've been doing this for months now and nothing has happened yet," Marcus said with a reassuring smile. "Besides, there are people you are in desperate need of this food and we're the only ones who seem to be doing anything about it."

"You're a good kid Marcus. If there were more people like you in the world it would be a much better place."

"If there were more people like me in the world I wouldn't need to do this," Marcus picked up his bag, then with a smile he said. "But I think the last thing the world needs is more hyperactive teens," he added. "I mean it would be more fun, but I'm pretty sure everyone else would get tired of us really quickly."

Mario gave a small chuckle, "You're probably right," Mario's face became sombre. "Still, be careful. I've got a bad feeling."

"Will do Mario, catch you later," he said before running down the alley and out of sight.

Mario let out a sigh, "That kid is going to run into trouble sooner or later. Hopefully it will be later."

"Mario," someone shouted. "I need your help in here."

Mario let out another sigh, "Coming Luigi."

**-00000-**

Marcus jogged through the streets of Barcelona and towards Esperanza Perdida, trying to save his energy to run if he ran into trouble, which knowing his luck he probably would. He wasn't sure if his ADHD was the cause or if he was just unlucky but trouble seemed to find him on a regular basis. After about twenty or so minutes he had arrived at his destination.

To Marcus, the district of Esperanza Perdida looked like a larger version of one of those villages you'd expect to see in war-torn third world countries, not here in Spain. He felt a surge of anger pass through him at the thought of what these people had been through and what the gang was doing to make it worse. He forced the anger down, took a deep breath and ran through one of the open spaces that served as a makeshift gate into the city.

Having spent much of the last six years of his live here he knew the city like the back of his hand and finding the first of the addresses was easy. He knocked on the door and, while he waited for the occupant to answer, took the first meal out of his bag. An elderly woman answered the door with two small children standing behind her.

"Special delivery, courtesy of Los Corredores," Marcus said handing the tray to her.

"Thank you young man," said the woman, taking the tray with a smile. "I am so glad that…"

"You're welcome ma'am," Marcus cut in, "but I gotta go, got four more deliveries to make." And with that he took off.

"Kids these days, always in a rush," she said to herself.

Marcus had delivered the next three meals without any problems and after the praise he was getting from the people he was feeling pretty good about himself as he ran on to make the last delivery. As he ran he couldn't help but think of how his life had guided him down this path.

Part of the reason he was helping these people was because a number of his friends lived here and he had spent most of his childhood playing in these streets before the earthquake hit. But mostly it was for all the positive attention he'd get from it. Growing up, he was forever getting into to trouble, called a failure and looked at as the kind of kid parents didn't want their own children hanging around with. His father mostly ignored him and his mother was placed in a psychiatric hospital almost a year ago. With all that had gone on in his life it was of no surprise that he was doing this for the attention, not that he told his friends that. But a small part of him knew that even if he didn't get any attention from this, he would have carried on doing it for the people and for his friends.

He didn't know if it was destiny leading him down this path, the hand of some deity, luck, or even just plain coincidence, but he had a feeling deep in his heart that something was going to happen to him, something that would change his life forever. Whether this was a good thing or bad he did not know yet.

Increasing his pace from jog to sprint Marcus hurried towards his final destination. He passed many familiar faces who all gave him nods of approval as he passed. This distracted him slightly as he ran round a corner at top speed, and straight into a rock-hard fist of king-sized thug. The force of the hit sent him sprawling into the wall of a makeshift house and caused him to see stars for a couple of seconds.

The blow would have knocked him out had he been a couple of inches taller, but as luck would have it the thug that hit him must have assumed Marcus had been bigger and had struck him on his forehead instead of his face. It still hurt though.

"So, your one of those Los Corredores punks whose been helping these poor innocent wretches and making my boss's job harder than it has to be," said the Thug. "Can't say I'm impressed."

Once Marcus's head stopped spinning he got a good look at the guy who hit him. He was close to seven feet tall, built like a bear and his arms were covered in scars and tribal tattoos. His face looked as though it had been carved from steel, and then had a chainsaw taken to it. Marcus was surprised that he had survived a blow from this mountain of a man let alone remained conscious.

Picking himself up, Marcus looked at the Thug. "Yeah, well I can't say that I'm impressed your boss managed to shave a gorilla and stick some clothes on it." Knowing that he was in as much trouble as he could possible get into, he didn't bother keeping his mouth shut.

The Thug gave a loud huff, which sounded more like a growl, "Cute kid, you're momma teach you that one."

Marcus felt a massive surge of anger erupt inside of him. "You watch what you say about my mom you pile of ape-shit!" he shouted at the Thug.

"Heh, I like you kid, you've got attitude. Shame I got to make an example of you." The Thug cracked his knuckles and advanced on Marcus.

Marcus knew he didn't stand a chance against this guy in a fair fight, and he quickly formulated a plan. Kick him in his junk and run. As soon as the Thug was close enough Marcus brought his foot to his groin as hard and as fast as he could and the Thug fell to his knees like a sack of bricks. The second the Thug's knees touched the ground, Marcus took off as fast as his legs could take him. Unfortunately the Thug recovered quickly and was after him within moments.

The moment Marcus knew he was in real trouble was when he realized that the thug was faster than him, if only just, and that the lead he had gained over the Thug was slowly being eroded. The only thing that had prevented the Thug from catching up was that he was better at cornering than the mountain of a man.

He raced through the remains of a ruined street of houses, looking for somewhere to hide. But most of the houses had completely caved in and they were too perilous to climb over. The ones that looked to be good hiding places were occupied by junkies and other wretched members of society that would more than likely hand him over in hopes of money or drugs.

Marcus couldn't run anymore, because he had come to the end of the road. Dead Man's Crevice, a forty foot wide, half-mile long trench, caused by the earthquake a year ago, stood before him. He stood there panting, looking for a last minute hiding place, but there wasn't any. The twin rows of houses ended right at the mouth of the crevice, and there was no way in, over or around them. He was trapped.

Not being able to help himself he stared down into the black abyss, completely forgetting the danger he was in. He felt overwhelmed about how small the vast size of it made him appear. It had only taken one moment for the earthquake that created this massive fissure to wipe out thousands of lives. For all that mankind has done in their brief existence, for all they accomplished, for all they were capable of; they were but an insignificant speck on this planet, and could easily be wiped from existence in a blink of an eye.

This made Marcus recognise that the people of the world needed hope as much as they needed food or water. And that made what he was doing so much more important than he had thought it was. While he stared down the fissure someone walked up and stood next to him.

At first he thought it was the Thug and he instinctively jumped to the side. But when he had a look at the person he couldn't have been more shocked at what he was looking at. It was a man with sky-blue skin. The man was over seven feet tall, as thin as a whip and completely hairless. His eyes were two silver orbs and he had pointy elf like ears. He wore a silver Tibetan style monk robe and a matching pair of silver sandals.

"W-who are you?" asked Marcus but the Sky-blue man didn't respond, instead he reached underneath his robe and pulled out an object. He held his hand out to Marcus, who in turn held out his own, and dropped the object into his open palm.

Marcus stared at the object curiously. It was ring made of blue metal with on circle adorned on the top of it. A strange symbol that Marcus didn't recognise was engraved on the circle. For some reason unknown to him he slipped the ring on his middle finger, it fit perfectly. As he stared at the ring the world around him went dark. The houses, the Sky-blue man, Dead Man's Crevice, they all disappeared into darkness.

A panic almost came over him when a brilliant white light bust into existence. As he watched, the white light disappeared only to be replaced by seven other lights – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. Six of the colours faded, leaving only the Blue light. A Black light that should have been impossible to see, yet Marcus could clearly make it out, appeared, striking out at the Blue, which in turn faded replaced by the Red light. The Red light then changed to Green, followed by Yellow, Indigo and Orange all struggling against the Black. Then the Violet light returned but that was quickly replaced by the White. The Black and White fought each other to a standstill before they exploded back into the other seven lights once again.

Marcus returned to reality and couldn't believe that what he saw had been real, and yet something deep down inside of him told him it was, or at least will be. He turned round to face to Sky-blue man. "What was that?" he asked him. But the Sky-blue man was gone, and in his place stood the Thug.

"Don't know what you're on about kid," he said grabbing the front of Marcus's shirt. "But it don't matter anyway. Let's see if you can fly as well as you can run." With no effort, the Thug threw Marcus into the abyss. Marcus let out a scream that faded as he fell, until there was silence. "Guess not," laughed the Thug before turning his back and walking off.

**-00000-**

Marcus thought he was done for, that this would be the end for him. He closed his eyes and waited for ground to meet him. But it never did. In fact it felt like he had stopped falling. Gingerly he opened one eye, then the other, and found himself floating in mid-air, encased in some sort of blue force-field. The ring was now on his finger – he didn't remember putting it on – and it was glowing brightly. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was making the force-field.

"I'm not sure what you are ring," he said to it, "but I'm sure glad you saved my bacon. And thank you strange blue alien dude for giving it to me."

He began to float up and out of the fissure, slowly at first but picking up speed as he ascended. Eventually he saw daylight and was out in no time.

"Ok you can let me down now," he said to the ring, but he kept rising higher and faster. "I said stop!" he yelled, "Whoa! Halt! Desist!" Either the ring didn't understand Spanish or it was ignoring him, because he was now over eight-hundred feet in the air and still rising.

In a sonic boom the ring shot upwards and Marcus felt his stomach shoot into his feet. Within seconds he had passed through Earth's atmosphere and had instinctively held his breath. He passed the moon, then Mars, cleared an asteroid belt and Jupiter all within seconds.

Marcus couldn't hold his breath anymore as he passed Saturn and Uranus, and exhaled. It was then he found out there was air within the blue bubble and gave a sigh of relief. He passed Neptune and Pluto and was out of the Solar System, still gaining speed. The entire journey had taken about two minutes and by his guess that meant that he was traveling faster than the speed of light which should have been impossible – at least to his knowledge it was.

The stars in front of him began to stretch and he had seen enough Sci-Fi's on TV and movies to know what it meant. He was going warp speed any second. He shut his eyes as he felt his entire body get tugged forward with enough force that it would have shattered his bones if not for the force-field, and fell unconscious.

**-00000-**

Marcus laid spread eagled on the ground feeling extremely nauseated. He didn't know where he was but he was determined not to move until the feeling had passed.

Something soft brushed against his nose, tickling him. He opened his eyes and stared at what it was and was confused by what he saw. It looked like a cat but not like any cat he had ever seen. It had long rabbit like ears, a long bushy tail that it could have wrapped around itself twice and had green fur. He stared at the cat-rabbit for a moment before it darted off into the undergrowth.

Standing up, Marcus found himself in a forest and was amazed by the scenery. There were trees as far as his eyes could see all of them with bright green leaves; some of them had strange looking fruit on them. Exotic looking flowers were scattered along the forest floor and came in every colour he thought imaginable and some he didn't even know existed.

There were animals of all shapes and sizes as well, there were lizards with bright purple skin and six legs, birds that resembled crows only longer, thinner and were red with blue wings, there were more of the Cabbit creatures as well.

He felt there was something different about him. Looking down he saw that his clothes had changed. He was now wearing a blue and black jumpsuit with white gloves and boots. The legs of the suit were blue and he had a blue hourglass shaped pattern on his front and back that reached from his neck to his waist. The arms of the suit were black as was the chest that wasn't covered by the hourglass. He had a black belt with a blue buckle on it, which bore the same symbol as the ring.

Hearing the sound of running water, Marcus thought that it would be a good place to start looking for help. Walking through the forest he couldn't help but wonder if anything on this planet would be ok for him to eat or drink or would they be inedible or even poison him. He didn't take long to think it through and decided that he would rather die from poisoning than dehydration and starvation. At least it would be quick, maybe.

After a five minute walk he came to the source of the running water, he peered through some foliage and gasped. In front of him was an enormous crystal blue lake with two large cliffs on either side of it. Several thin waterfalls ran down the sides of the cliffs supplying the lake with water. In the distance several species of animals were drinking from the lake. There was what looked like a giraffe only much shorter and blue, a lion-like animal with a dark green body and a blue mane and a large bronze coloured eagle with a twenty meter wing span.

But these were not what had made him gasp. It was a blue object the size of large house, sitting on an island in the middle of the lake. The object's shape looked familiar to him and then it suddenly dawned on him. He looked at the ring then at the object. The symbol on the ring was the exact same shape as the object in the lake. He stared at this unusual monument, unaware of what was standing right behind him.

"How curious," said a voice.

Marcus jumped with shock and tumbled face first into the lake. Emerging from the lake he glanced up at the source of the voice. Standing – well floating – by the shore of the lake was a blue skinned man who was no bigger than three-and-a-half feet tall. He had long white hair that was tied in a ponytail and he was wearing a white robe that covered his whole body besides his head and hands.

"Who are you? Marcus asked feeling slightly embarrassed that he had been freighted by a guy who looked like Papa Smurf.

"I am Ganthet, Guardian of the Blue Lantern Corp," he replied. He raised his hand and Marcus floated out of the lake and was placed gently on the shore next to Ganthet. "Now may I ask who you are and how you came to acquire that ring," he said sternly.

Marcus felt a little intimidated by Ganthet but felt as though he could trust him, so Marcus gave him his name and explained everything that had happened to him, starting from when he picked up the meals, to running from the thug, to being given the ring from the Sky-blue man, finishing with his arrival here.

Ganthet floated there silently in deep thought. After a few moments he voiced his thoughts. "Can he describe this Sky-blue man?" he asked and Marcus did. "So it was not another Guardian. This is most perplexing."

"So you believe me?" asked Marcus.

"I do, and while I do not know who this Sky-blue man is and how he came to possess a blue ring I do know one thing," he said seemingly peering into Marcus's soul, which he found very unnerving.

"What's that?" he asked

"That you are apparently a new recruit of the Blue Lantern's Corps. Welcome to Odym."

-00000-

It had taken Marcus a couple of moments for what Ganthet had told him to sink in, and when he did Ganthet led him through the forest. As they traversed the forest Marcus asked Ganthet about the Blue Lantern Corps and the Guardian was happy to indulge his curiosity.

"I, along Sayd, another Guardian, formed the Blue Lantern Corps and created the Blue Central Power Battery you saw in the lake, over seven galactic standard years ago in order to aid the Green Lantern Corps, but more importantly to bring hope to the universe. I am sure that you know of the Green Lanterns?"

"Well yeah," Marcus replied nearly stumbling over a root for the third time. "We have three on Earth."

"Did you also know that they draw upon the universal power of Will?"

"Um, no I didn't."

"That is to be expected," explained Ganthet. "Your planet, despite its high levels of metahumans, magical beings and extra-terrestrial visitors, is only a Class 3 planet and the majority of your people and not aware of such things. But I digress from the topic. Now, while the Green Lanterns draw upon Will, the Blue Lanterns draw from Hope, which is the most powerful, if the most limited, of the seven energies of the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum."

"Emotional Electro what?" Marcus asked slightly confused.

"Perhaps I will tell you more, later, but first I must discuss with Sayd what we should do with you," Marcus gulped when he heard this but Ganthet quickly added, "Don't worry, it is nothing insidious. We will just be discussing whether or not you will be allowed to take the Trials or be sent home."

"Just asking, but why wouldn't I be allowed to take the Trials? Not saying that I want to take them or not, I'm just curious."

Ganthet was silent for several moments before saying, "The circumstances in which the ring was passed into your possession are very unusual. When we search for new recruits we send out our newest member with a newly forged ring to find a suitable candidate." He stopped and turned to face Marcus. "The ring in your possession was not forged by Sayd or myself, nor was it even created on Odym. And to make matters more mysterious the ring appears to be older than the Central Power Battery, which should be impossible."

Marcus took the ring off of his finger and examined it closely, and on the symbol of the ring were a few almost invisible scratches. He also found an engraving on the inside of the band but it was too worn to make out.

"What does it mean?" he asked

"I am uncertain," replied the Guardian. "It could mean nothing but I doubt that is the case. Anyway now is not the time to discuss this. As soon as we reach the Sacred Grove you may eat and rest if you need it, while I speak with Sayd."

The two of them walked – well one walked while the other floated – on in silence while Marcus thought about everything that Ganthet said. He mulling over the idea of joining the Blue Lanterns, but he wasn't sure. On one hand he would have the power to do some actual good back home. But on the other it sounded like a lot of responsibility and he wasn't sure if he could handle it. It was all academic anyway as there was still a chance he would be sent home without the ring.

He became more and more fascinated by the plants and animals of Odym the longer he walked on. There were some that resembled those of Earth with only slight differences and there were many that he couldn't even describe without taking a picture – he had thought about taking a few snapshots on his phone but he must have lost it when he fell into Dead Man's Crevice.

One of the dark green lions had crossed their path and Marcus thought it was going to eat him, but it just looked at him and went on his way. When he asked Ganthet about it, the Guardian told him that the ecosystem of Odym was in such perfect balance, that no animal would harm or feel threatened by anything that wasn't native to the planet unless it wished them harm. To seemingly prove his point, two bright pink monkeys used Marcus's head as a platform to get to a higher branch.

After a while they came to a large clearing on the shore of the lake, with the Blue Central Power Battery dominating the view. Half a dozen wigwams were set near the center with a small fire burning brightly in the center. A stew pot sat on top of it giving off a delicious smell. Sitting round the fire were four aliens all dressed in blue and black, and one with some white, clothing.

The one closest to him was a humanoid with orange wrinkled skin with no hair and no nose. He wore a blue silk robe that reminder Marcus of the Sky-blue man. On his forehead was the same symbol as on the ring – which Marcus had learned was the symbol of hope.

Next to him was white humanoid elephant with three earrings in each ear. He had a tattoo down the length of his trunk and half of his left tusk was missing. His Blue Lantern uniform consisted of a blue ring round the neck of it, a blue vertical stripe running down the front and back, a blue sash wrapped round his waist and two blue wrist bands while the legs and the sides of the top were black. The Blue Lantern symbol was on the front of his sash.

The third one was a tall slender woman with purple skin – though only her face was visible. She wore a blue hooded cloak, a white jumpsuit with black legs and with a large blue diamond shaped patch on the middle of her uniform. The Blue Lantern symbol was on a broach holding her cloak up.

The final one was a tall man with chalk white skin. He had no hair; instead he had a long head tail that hung down to his lower back. He had no nose and his eyes were black. His uniform was different to the others as it looked more like the Green Lantern's he had seen on TV than the others. The neck and shoulders of the uniform were blue, with a stripe coming down the front and back of it, ending in a V shape that wrapped round his waist. The arms up to the elbow were blue and the legs up to his knees. The Blue Lantern symbol was on the center of his chest.

Ganthet took Marcus towards the Blue Lantern's and introduced them.

"Marcus I would like to introduce you to the Blue Lantern Corps. This is Sister Sercy of Sector 4," he said gesturing to the woman with purple skin, "Brother Hymn of Sector 3," the orange skinned alien, "Brother Warth of Sector 2," the elephant alien, "and Saint Walker of Sector 1," the chalk-white alien.

"Hi," said Marcus nervously, and they all returned his greeting.

"This is Marcus of Sector 2814. He is a potential recruit, though due to the circumstances I will have to speak with Sayd first. Please make our guest feel welcome, I will be back shortly." And with that, Ganthet flew of over the treeline.

Marcus stood there motionlessly until Saint Walker spoke up. "Please sit with us Marcus," he said. "You must be hungry and we have plenty to share."

Marcus realized that he was hungry, very hungry. He sat down next to Saint Walker who handed him a bowl filled with what looked like vegetable stew. Not wanting to pass up a free meal he wolfed the lot. It was one of the most delicious things he had ever tasted, second only to pizza with anchovies, and had asked for seconds, then thirds.

"So tell us Marcus," said Brother Warth. "How did you come to acquire a blue ring?

"Patience Brother," said Saint Walker. "He will tell us when he is good and ready."

"I don't mind," Marcus said. "Though I don't understand most of the details myself." And so he told them everything he had told Ganthet. Feeling that it was part of the story, he also told them about the food drive he and his friends set up, the gangsters that took over the city, and the earthquake that started it all.

"I can see why the ring chose you Marcus," said Brother Hymn.

"Well like I said, the Sky-blue man gave it to me, it didn't choose me."

"That's where you are wrong Marcus," said Saint Walker with a smile. "Otherwise the ring would not have brought you here. No force in the universe could have forced the ring on your finger." He placed a hand on Marcus's shoulder, "I believe that you will make a great Blue Lantern one day."

Marcus decided then and there that he liked Saint Walker. If he believed that Marcus could become a Blue Lantern then he should at least try, though whether or not he became a Blue Lantern depended on the decision of the two Guardians.

"So are there more Blue Lanterns out there?" he asked.

"Alas no," answered Brother Hymn. "We are all there is."

"Why?"

"Because there are few beings in the universe that are capable of sustaining the hope required to become a Blue Lantern," continued Brother Warth.

"But enough about our numbers," said Saint Walker. "We have many more things that we could discuss."

And so Marcus and the Lanterns talked for an hour, about anything and everything they could think of, when Ganthet reappeared followed by another Guardian who, Marcus assumed must be Sayd. She wore the same white robe as Ganthet and had the same blue skin and the same white hair, albeit shorter. The only thing that really separated her from Ganthet – besides opposite genders of course – was that she looked much younger than he did.

All four Blue Lanterns rose and bowed their heads to the Guardians in respect, so Marcus did the same. Once they raised their heads Ganthet spoke.

"Sayd and I have discussed the circumstances in your receiving of the ring and have decided that, despite it being unusual, you will be allowed to take the Trials in becoming a Blue Lantern."

"All right!" Marcus shouted punching his fist into the air, "I get to be a Blue Lantern!"

"If you can pass the Trials young man," said Sayd.

"No sweat, bring them on."

"Energetic, isn't he," Sayd said to Ganthet.

"Yes he is," he replied. "He reminds me of a Green Lantern I once knew."

"So when do I begin?" asked Marcus.

"In one hour," said Ganthet.

"So prepare yourself, for they will not be easy," Sayd finished.

**-00000-**

In little under an hour, Marcus found himself in a small clearing not far from the main camp. He stood in the center of the clearing while the Guardians and the Blue Lanterns were standing among the trees just beyond the clearing.

"There are three trails which you must pass in order to join the Blue Lantern Corps," Ganthet began. "The first is the Trail of Resilience. Saint Walker will be your instructor for this trail." Saint Walker stepped into the center of the clearing and Marcus followed.

"In order to pass this trial you must make contact with me," Saint Walker explained. "A simple touch is all it will take."

"That sounds easy enough," Marcus said confidently.

"We shall see," he said. "The rules are simple, if you touch me, you will pass this trail. The trial will go on as long as you are willing to. You are not allowed to use your power ring for this test. Do you understand the rules?"

"Yeah I got them," said Marcus with a grin thinking that this was going to be easy.

"You may begin when you are ready," said Sayd.

"Just to let you know Marcus, I cannot go easy on you," said Saint Walker.

"That's ok, didn't think you would." Without warning Marcus leapt at Saint Walker, determined to finish this quickly. But Saint Walker stepped to the side and Marcus hit the floor.

"Try again," said Saint Walker with a laugh in his voice. Marcus got up quickly and made a grab for Saint Walker, but he took a step back and left the teenager grasping nothing but air. "Almost."

Marcus ran at him in an attempt to get in close, but every time he did and tried to touch him, Saint Walker would just step out of the way and he would miss. Saint Walker walked to a nearby tree and, with little effort, leapt to a low branch and then a higher one and so on until he was half way up the tree. Marcus, not willing to give up, gave chase and climbed up too. After a short climb he made it to where Saint Walker had been, unfortunately in the time he had taken to climb the tree Saint Walker was already several trees away, sitting down eating some fruit. He slowly gave chase along the branches, having to watch his step along the way.

Saint Walker was now only inches away, he reached out to touch him but Saint Walker leapt from the tree and landed in the center of the clearing. Without thinking Marcus grabbed a nearby vine and swung after him. As he sailed through the air, he reached out to grab him, but Saint Walker ducked and Marcus went flying off into a nearby bush.

"Do you give up, Marcus?" asked Saint Walker.

"Not yet," he replied pulling himself up.

This went on for nearly hour, with Marcus leaping, running, swinging and skidding, but no matter what he tried he just could not lay a hand on Saint Walker. Exhausted, he collapsed to the floor, panting heavily. Saint Walker strode up to him, though he kept out of his reach.

"Do you give up Marcus?" he asked.

"Never," said Marcus through gritted teeth as he strained to get up.

Saint Walker looked to the Guardians who nodded. "Then you pass."

"Say what?" Marcus said feeling confused.

"The true test was not to catch me, but to see whether you would continue on in a situation where the odds of success were bleak. In a universe full of Rage, Avarice and Fear, it needs beings who refuse to give up, and you have shown that to us."

"WOO-HOO," Marcus shouted.

"Don't get too excited," said Ganthet. "You still have two more Trials. Your next Trial begins tomorrow. I suggest you get some rest, you will need it."

**-00000-**

After a good night's sleep and breakfast, Marcus was directed to the center of the camp by Sister Sercy – who was his instructor for the day.

"A Blue Lantern ring is capable of many things Marcus," said Sister Sercy. "It allows flight and it will translate most languages in the universe. It will envelop you in a force field to protect you even in the harshness no space, enhances you strength, and allows you to project healing energy. And with a Green Lantern present our rings can do everything they can do. Later you will face the Trial of Revelation," she explained. "You have an hour before your trail and I thought it would be a good idea to pass the time by teaching you how to fly." With a thought Sister Sercy became surrounded with a blue aura and flew twenty feet into the air. "Now your turn," she said.

Marcus stood there and tried to fly but nothing happened. He tried jumping on the spot but still nothing happened.

"You have to Will yourself to fly," she told him. "Concentrate."

"Easy for you to say," he mumbled but did as she said.

He closed his eyes and focused on flying, trying desperately to keep his mind on it, but it was a lot harder than it seemed. He tried to clear his mind but he kept losing focus and his mind began to wander. Images of him flying kept popping into his head and no matter how hard he tried they would just not go away.

After a while of nothing happening he opened his eyes, only to find himself staring over the treetops. Looking down he saw that he was hovering thirty feet in the air surrounded by a blue aura like Sister Sercy. He realized that he didn't need to concentrate as hard as he had been. All he needed to do was picture what he wanted to do in his head and keep it there. Feeling elevated – pun intended – he slowly tested the extent of his flying powers. He flew up several feet then down till he was nearly touching the ground. He moved to the left, then the right, backwards then forwards. Feeling confident he shot up like a rocket until he was hundreds of feet in the air, performing somersaults on the way. He did backflips, dives, twists and turns and any other stunt he could think of.

"THIS IS AWESOME!" he shouted as he flew past several trees at Mach 4.

Flying with the ring was actually pretty easy now that he had a bit of practice doing it. All he had to do was think it and the ring would do it. After twenty more minutes of flying he came back to the clearing and tried to land. Though he found that landing was a bit harder than flying when the aura cut out five feet from the ground and he hit the ground hard.

"That hurt," he said wincing while he picked himself up.

"Well, except for the landing, I'd say that you were a natural flyer," said Sister Sercy.

"Thanks," he said blushing slightly.

"And now it is time for the Trial of Revelation," she added.

The two of them took to the skies and headed towards the lake. Once they were over it, Marcus flew down low until he was only inches above the lake. He was enjoying the coolness of the water splashing his face and was slightly disappointed when they arrived at their destination – the Blue Lantern Central Battery. Sister Sercy and Marcus landed on the island that held the Central Power Battery and found the two Guardians in a deep conversation. They didn't notice them until Sister Sercy cleared her throat.

"Ah you're here," said Ganthet. "Excellent, then we shall begin the second part of the trial." He moved forward and held his hand out in a fist. A bright green light emanated from the Guardian's hand, and when we opened it the light emerged as a small orb. Upon the green orb's creation Marcus felt much stronger than he had before. "This is pure Will," he said. "Once you take it you will have access to the ring's full capability for two hours. In those two hours you will be required to create a construct from your heart. We cannot tell you what the type of construct we are looking for is; only that it must come from deep within your heart. You can practice as much as you want within the time limit but if you cannot create a construct to our expectations then you will fail."

"Creating a construct is the same as flying," continued Sayd. "You simply have to will it into existence."

Marcus took a deep breath and held out his ring hand. "I'm ready," he said feeling both confident and nervous at the same time. He had a good idea on what a construct was; he had seen the Green Lantern's make solid looking objects out of energy on television. But he wasn't entirely sure how hard it would be to make one. The energy jumped from Ganthet and was absorbed into the ring. Marcus felt an immense rush of energy pass through the ring and into him. With this energy it felt like he could do anything.

"**Willpower detected, full ring capabilities unlocked" **He heard his ring say. He was about to say he didn't know that it could talk but he was on a time limit and didn't want to waste time.

He aimed his ring out towards the lake and closed his eyes. He pictured the image of the twin dragons he had drawn on his phone a couple of days ago and willed them into existence. Unfortunately it didn't go as planned as the dragons came out the size of worms. He tried again and this time they came out right as eighty foot long beasts. But the Guardians didn't look impressed so he tried again. This time he made a miniature football pitch with tiny players. But still they were not impressed.

Again and again he tried to create something that was from deep within his heart, but nothing he tried was good enough for them. He didn't understand what they meant by deep within his heart. Was it something artistic that came from his heart or was it more personal than that? His thoughts drifted from the task at hand and images of his friends and mother flooded his mind.

His ring emitted a blinding light and he had to snap his eyes shut to protect them. Once the light died down he risked a peak at what had happened, and let out a gasp. Before him stood five blue constructs in the shapes of his friends and his mother.

The construct of his mother reached down and placed a hand on his cheek and he felt a warm sensation that he had not felt in years. She learned down and gave him a kiss on his forehead and said, "Everything's going to be alright Marcus." He felt tears run down his face but did nothing to stop them or wipe them away. The constructs of his friends all gave him friendly greetings before they all vanished before his eyes.

Marcus stood there gazing at where his mother had been, not wanting to move. He felt someone lay there hand on his shoulder, it was Ganthet's.

"Marcus," he said with a voice filled with sympathy. "You have passed the Trials of Revelation. You have brought what gives you hope into existence. This knowledge will allow you to heal others, but more importantly it will give you strength to give hope to others. The final Trial will begin tomorrow." He turned to leave. "When you are ready I suggest you get some rest." He and Sayd flew off into the distance and left Marcus standing there.

**-00000-**

Marcus had stood there for an hour, still staring at the spot where the construct of his mother had been. He could barely remember her looking so beautiful, so young. He didn't want the memory to fade and he thought if he moved it would do just that. He knew that he was being silly, but he still could not bring himself to do it. He heard two sets of footsteps approach him. Saint Walker and Sister Sercy came and stood either side of him.

"That was your mother?" Sister Sercy asked. Marcus nodded.

"Something happened to her?" asked Saint Walker.

With anyone else he would have kept silent but in the last couple of days he had come to trust them and even think of them as family. "About five years ago she developed multiple personality disorder. At first the doctors were able to help her with drugs and psychotherapy but she just kept getting worse." A tear slid down Marcus's cheek. "Eventually her mind couldn't take it anymore. Now she just keeps switching between her other personalities and I rarely see her real self anymore." Marcus choked back a sob.

Saint Walker laid a hand on his shoulder. "Marcus, we have all lost someone here, some more than others. But it is our hope that keeps us going. And I think you mother would want you to carry on."

Marcus wiped away his tears. "Your right and you know what, I'm going to become a Blue Lantern and make this universe a better place for everyone, for my mom. And maybe I can use my ring to heal her."

"That's the spirit Marcus. Now let us get some rest, you have a big day tomorrow." The three of them took off to their beds unaware of what lurked in the skies above.

**-00000-**

**High above Odym**

Ragx stood at the helm of the _Forerunner_ – an Infiltrator class cruiser – staring at the planet below. He was a massive humanoid creature standing at twelve feet tall and clad from head to toe in dark red armour that hid most of his features. He had four arms each having three fingers and a thumb and two legs each with two toes. On his back was a sword that was as tall as he was and half as wide.

"Incoming transmission from the Citadel sir," said an insect-like creature, clad in the same red armour.

"Put it through," he told the insect in a gruff voice.

The creature obeyed and a holographic image appeared on the console before him. The image was of another humanoid man sitting on a throne. The humanoid was half the size of Ragx and wore similar armour to his except it was adorned with the symbols of a Royal. The woman on screen wore no helmet but her face was obscured by a shadow, which was fortunate for Ragx as looking upon the face of one of the High Lords or Ladies was punishable by Dematerialization.

"What is your current status Ragx?" said the High Lady.

Ragx dropped to one knee. "We are above Odym now, my Lady," he replied. "We will be launching our attack momentarily."

"There has been a change in plan Ragx," she said dangerously.

Ragx gulped, "M-my Lady?"

"One of the members of your Legion attempted to usurp one of the lower thrones for you and failed, and for that you must pay the price. You are now to attack at the midday sun and are to return half of your soldiers to the Citadel beforehand. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes my Lady," Ragx couldn't believe that anyone in his Legion could have been so foolish as to try and take a throne, even a lower one, and fail.

"Should you succeed this stain on your Legion's honour will be removed. But if you should fail then you and your legion will be dematerialized.

"As you command, my Lady," he replied

"Do not fail me!" the High Lady growled and the image deactivated.

Ragx rose to his feet and tried to think of who was responsible for this. Had they succeeded he would have been a Royal – a Lord. But now all he had was a death sentence. If he triumphed here he would make the perpetrator beg to be dematerialized.

"Prepare four my best soldiers!" he shouted at the insect. "And send the rest on a shuttle back to the Citadel." He turned from the insect and faced the view screen. "We attack tomorrow with the midday sun!"

**-00000-**

**Odym **

Marcus had awoken at the crack of dawn, eager for his final Trial, but had been told that it wouldn't start for a few hours, so he had spent the time practicing his flying. Despite his success in his trial he was still have trouble with his flying. When he thought about it all those stunts he had done had been quite clumsy, and when he had tried to do a stunt this time, he ended up in the lake. Still practice makes perfect.

After a few hours he was summoned to the island for his final Trial. He was both nervous and excited, passing this Trial would mean he would be a full member of the Blue Lantern Corps, failure would mean that he spent all this time here for nothing. He couldn't fail, he wouldn't fail. Landing – and stumbling again – he was greeted by the sight of the four Blue Lanterns and the two Guardians.

"Are you ready for your final Trial?" asked Ganthet. Marcus nodded.

"Then let us begin the Trial of the Soul," said Sayd. "For this Trial you must recite the Oath of the Blue Lantern Corps."

Marcus blinked, unsure he had heard correctly. "I'm sorry I think I heard you wrong, you want me to recite your Oath." The Guardians nodded. "And if I do I pass." They nodded again. Marcus felt relieved. This was to be the easiest Trial yet. "All right then," he said grinning from ear to ear. "What's the Oath?"

"That is what you must find out," said Ganthet

"What?" he said, his smile now gone.

"When a Blue Lantern's ring believes that its wielder is ready, it will reveal the Oath to them."

"This is the one Trial that we did not create, Marcus," Sayd said. "It appeared when we forged the first ring."

"Why do I need the Oath in the first place?" asked Marcus getting restless. "I haven't needed it yet.

"The Oath gives us strength," said Saint Walker. "It also lets us recharge our rings."

"What do you mean by recharge?" he asked. "I haven't needed to recharge."

"That is because your ring has been drawing upon our hope," said Sister Sercy. "As long as there is a large source of hope, our rings will never be depleted.

Marcus was about to ask what was the point in learning the Oath then, but that was not the way of the Blue Lanterns. "So how long do I have to pass this Trial?"

"As long as it takes," answered Sayd. "We cannot put a time limit on this Trial as it varies for each being."

"If you wish we can send you home, you are not required to stay on Odym for this Trial," Ganthet told him.

As soon as Ganthet had said that, Marcus felt a little homesick. It would be good to see his friends again. Then another thought crossed his mind, he had been gone for three days now and nobody knew where he was. Did they think he was missing, or dead? And would his father have even noticed?

Marcus's thoughts were interrupted by a deafening sonic boom. All eyes turned to the sky as a jet black object descended from the sky. The object was a sixty meter long, twenty wide, trapezoid shaped spaceship. It had four wings at the back – that formed a squashed X pattern – and two horizontal wings at the front near the cockpit. From what Marcus could see there were at least half a dozen weapons mounted on the ship, but there could have easily been more on the top.

Everyone stood still as the bottom of the ship slid open and five beings clad in red armour dropped from it and landed on the island not twenty feet from them. The armoured beings came in various shapes and sizes, but one of them stood out from the rest. A large four armed being carrying a massive sword.

The four armed being stepped forward and said, "In the name of the Ever Glorious Empire I, Ragx, demand you to surrender or face imminent death."

"Talk about straight to the point," said Marcus.

"We cannot do that," Ganthet said floating forward. "I suggest you leave now or face the consequences."

"I was hoping you would say that," said Ragx. He pulled a device from his hip, aimed it at the Guardians and pressed a button. There was a flash of orange light and the Guardians let out a scream and fell to the ground. The Blue Lanterns rushed to their sides. They were still alive but were badly injured. "This handy little gadget turns a being's inner energy against them." Ragx laughed menacingly, "With all of that power they have, that must have really hurt." He tossed it to the ground, "Pity it's only good for one shot."

The four Lanterns stood in front of the Guardians in an attempt to shield them from the invaders. Marcus followed suit and aimed his ring at Ragx. "Look I don't know what your problem is," he said. "But we're giving you a chance to leave unharmed. I suggest you take it."

"Enough words!" yelled Ragx. "LET THERE BE BLOOD!" The five armoured aliens charged the Blue Lanterns.

"Save the Guardians!" yelled Saint Walker. Brother Warth and Marcus grabbed the fallen Guardians and took them to the Central Power Battery while the rest of them held off the invaders in hand to hand combat. But even with then enhanced strength the rings gave them they did little to slow the invaders down, they were too well trained. Seeing their effort was in vain, the Lanterns fell back to the Central Power Battery.

As soon as everyone was within ten feet of the Battery the four Lanterns stood in a circle and joined hands. They shone in a near blinding light, halting the invaders pursuit. The light expanded from the four and encased them and the Battery in a force-field.

Ragx drew his sword and ran at the force-field. He swung his sword as hard as he could and struck it with tremendous force, but the force field held. Ragx let out a roar of anger. "I want that barrier down now!" he barked at his soldiers, then added, "By any means necessary."

His soldiers obeyed instantly and surrounded the barrier, firing on it with various weapons. The ship hovered overhead and let loose a volley of white hot laser bolts upon the shielded Lanterns.

"How long can the shield last?" Marcus asked when he saw a crake appear on the shield.

"As long as we can Hope," Saint Walker replied. "All will be well."

The crack on the shield had disappeared only to be replaced by another larger one. They couldn't last like this, no matter how much they hoped. That's when Marcus decided to do something that was both brave and incredibly stupid, just his style.

"Hey this shield, they can't get in but could we get out?" he asked.

"Yes," said Saint Walker. "But why are…"

Marcus didn't let him finish. "I'm going to buy you some time." Marcus took off and flew at top speed towards Ragx.

Marcus hit Ragx with the force of a cannonball and both of them went flying off the island. He then grabbed the four armed conqueror and used him as a battering ram against the ship. They tore through the bottom of the ship and emerged out of the top. The ship, unable to stay up of its own accord, crash landed into the lake. Marcus almost congratulated himself before Ragx struck him in the side of his head with a gigantic fist. The force of the blow knocked him into the forest below and Ragx followed.

Both of them hit the ground hard and Marcus tried to push himself to his feet. But Ragx recovered first and launched himself at the young Lantern with his sword in hand. Marcus barely had time to dodge as the sword missed him by mere inches. Before the four-armed marauder could attack again, he caught him by surprise by throwing a punch at his head, cracking his helmet, and knocking him back. He tried to follow up with another punch but Ragx retaliated with a powerful back hand which sent Marcus flying into a tree, shattering it in the process. Thankfully the aura surrounding him softened the blow; otherwise his spine would have shattered. Getting back to his feet, he saw Ragx pealing the remains of his helmet off, and he got a good look at the true face of his enemy.

Ragx had red skin and four bright orange eyes – one pair above the other – that burned with hate. He had three thick scars on the right side of his face that looked to have been caused by an animal. He had a stubble stripe went from the bridge of his nose to his neck, and a second one that went from his chin to his lower lip.

"Now you die," Ragx growled.

"Gotta catch me first ugly," Marcus retorted, and took to the skies.

Ragx let out another growl then turned to his men. "You four take care of these Lanterns," he barked. "The little one is mine." He pressed a button on the belt of his armour and was immediately surrounded by a clear shimmering aura and he flew up after the human.

"Brother Marcus has given us a chance to fight back," yelled Saint Walker. The shield dropped and the four Lanterns engaged the remaining four invaders. "All will be well."

**-00000-**

Marcus hadn't realised that Ragx could fly, and he nearly had the worst haircut ever when Ragx's sword missed his head by half an inch. Marcus tried to counterattack but he was struck in the back by Ragx's two free hands and he hit the ground hard.

"Now we will see what this lantern is made of," he heard Ragx say aloud.

Marcus struggled to pick himself up; his body was racked with pain. His back felt like it was on fire and he had cracked two ribs. Once he pulled himself up, he limped over to the treeline and hid, waiting for Ragx. He didn't have to wait long as Ragx descended from the treetops to where Marcus had crashed. He looked around for his opponent but couldn't see him for the trees.

"LANTERN," he heard Ragx bellow. "COME OUT AND FACE ME COWARD."

He had no delusions that he could beat this guy in a straight up fight. He needed a plan. But none came to mind. He was used to going on instinct, not coming up with plans. What he truly needed was a miracle. And he got one. Standing in an entrance to a cave not twenty feet from him was the Sky-blue man.

"Guess wishes do come true," he whispered. "Hey can you help me with this guy?" The Sky-blue man shook his head. "Fat lot of good you are," he said irritated. The Sky-blue man turned and gestured Marcus to follow.

Even though he did not know who this guy really was, he had saved his life and had giving him a purpose – true he may have gotten the ring sometime in the future anyway, but he had to thank him for its early delivery – and for that he trusted him and followed him into the cave. The cave was almost pitch black, the only light available were from strange luminescent crystals that stuck out of the walls, floor and ceiling, and that wasn't much. The passageway he walked down was large and spacious; he could have easily driven a truck through here, if he had a truck, or could drive.

He wanted to ask the Sky-blue man where he was leading him, but he had the feeling that either he couldn't talk or wouldn't. Eventually they came to an enormous, well lit chamber deep within the cave. It was large enough that it could have easily held a football stadium, and still have enough room left for parking.

There were more green crystals in here, hundreds in fact, maybe thousands. Feeling curious he touched one of the crystals and felt an immediate surge of energy. In shock he jerked his hand away. The energy he felt from the crystal was familiar, like he had felt it before. Then it struck him, he had felt it before, when Ganthet gave him that energy to create constructs.

"This is crystallised Will," he thought out loud. He could use the power in these crystals to defeat Ragx and his invaders. He turned round to thank the Sky-blue man for bringing him here, but once again he had vanished, "Figures."

He tried to pull one of the crystals out of the wall, but it wouldn't budge. He tried one of the smaller ones and still nothing. He felt the energy surge though him every time he touched a crystal but when he let go the energy would vanish. He thought about holding on to one of them and use the energy to blast it free but he might cause a cave in and that was the last thing he wanted. Then by his feet he saw a small crystal, no bigger than a marble, laying on the ground, free of the rocks.

He picked it up and placed it into a pocket he made in his uniform. "I hope it'll be enough," he said.

"It won't be," said a gruff voice behind him.

Marcus spun round and aimed his ring at Ragx. The red armoured colossus stood there at the chamber entrance, his sword raised, ready to strike. They glared at each other, immobile as statues, waiting for the other to make the first move. There were no words to be spoken, no deals or threats to make, they both knew what was going to happen next and nothing said would change that.

The two of them began to circle each other, neither one wanting to make the first move. The first move would decide the outcome of this fight and a single mistake could prove fatal. In the end they both launched themselves at each other at the same time.

Marcus flew at the four armed titan, using the energy from his small to fire energy blasts as he went. Ragx ran at the Lantern child deflecting the blasts with relative ease. Marcus clenched his ring hand into a fist and threw a punch at his opponent. Ragx brought his sword down in a vertical slash upon his hand. The ring and sword struck each other and released a powerful shockwave that blew both of them off their feet.

Ragx, with all of his military training, was the first up and moved in to finish his downed foe. Marcus heard his approach and rolled out the way just in time to see a sword come down were his head had been only seconds ago. Running on instinct, he aimed his ring at Ragx. An enormous blue battering ram emerged from his ring, hitting Ragx with incredible force, and smashing him into a wall. The construct faded and Ragx let out a groan as he peeled himself out of the wall.

"Had enough?" said Marcus.

Ragx just laughed. "Are you kidding, this is what I live for."

He pulled a blaster out of a hidden compartment in his armour and fired three consecutive shots. Marcus dodged the first two shots but took the third to his chest and sent him flying. His aura had protected him from being killed by the shots but it still hurt. He managed to steady himself in mid-flight and stopped several feet from the wall.

Marcus flew up high and fired and a string of energy blasts at Ragx. But once again he deflected them with his weapon. Changing tactics, Marcus created a construct of a large tiger to engage Ragx. The tiger slashed, bit, leapt at his opponent. But despite Ragx's size, he was very nimble and Marcus's tiger construct couldn't lay a paw on him.

The tiger leapt at him again but Ragx sidestepped the attack and buried his blade into its side. The tiger shattered as though it was made of glass and the pieces disappeared. Marcus tried to make another construct but Ragx fired several blaster shots at him before he could complete it. Four of the shots hit him, the force of them crushing him into the ceiling, while the rest hit the area surrounding him, exploding in a rain of rock and crystal shrapnel.

Marcus fell to the floor with an audible thud, and he felt a bone in his left arm break. He heard Ragx charge at him and raised his ring and fired an energy burst with as much power as he could. His aim was off but he managed to knock Ragx's sword from his hand. Unfortunately Ragx didn't hesitate and punched Marcus with his two right arms. It felt like Marcus was hit by a car and not even his protective aura could protect him from all of the pain from the blow. He flew backwards and Ragx grabbed both of his legs with his left hands and threw him in the opposite direction, where he scrapped painfully across the floor, coming to a stop thirty feet away.

Marcus struggled to stand up, his entire body felt like it was on fire, and turned to face Ragx, who had recovered his sword.

"Had enough?" said Ragx mocking what Marcus had said not too long ago.

Marcus let out a weak laugh. "A-are you k-kidding, this is what I l-live for," he mocked Ragx back though he struggled to say it.

"Face it, you can't win this fight boy," the titan said, advancing on him. "Give up now and I'll make you end as swift and painless as possible." He now stood just fifteen feet away. "Continue on however and I will make you beg for death."

"H-haven't you heard, B-blue Lanterns never give up." He found his second wind and fought through the pain. "Inever give up." He aimed his ring a Ragx. "So do whatever it is you're going to do, because as long as I live and breathe and always Hope I will never back down. Words began to materialize in his mind's eye. And he knew exactly what they were.

"So be it," Ragx roared and charged at him again.

Marcus let loose a massive beam of energy at Ragx But he had raised his sword and cut the beam in two and advanced slowly against the energy. Then Marcus spoke the Oath.

"_**In fearful day in raging night,"**_

Ragx closed in on Marcus, struggling to push against the energy that the kid had unleashed.

"_**With strong hearts full our souls ignite!"**_

The crystals in the cave began to glow with an eerie but warming light, but Ragx seemed unaware of this.

"_**When all seems lost in the War of Light,"**_

Ragx was now only five feet away now, he could taste victory. Tendrils of green energy rose up from the crystals, feeding their power to Marcus's ring.

"_**Look to the stars, FOR HOPE BURNS BRIGHT!"**_

A colossal wave of blue energy exploded from Marcus's ring, blasting Ragx with immeasurable power. The entire cave was blown the pieces and Ragx was buried under several tons of rock and crystal.

Marcus stood in the center of the now decimated cave, supercharged by the green energy from the now destroyed crystals. He could feel the energy healing all the damage his body had taken, until his body was returned to perfect condition. He aimed his ring at the large pill of rubble, which Ragx lay under, and created constructs of an entire mining crew, complete with cranes, diggers and bulldozers. Within moments his once powerful foe was unearthed lain down ten feet from Marcus.

Ragx armour had been completely destroyed and his body was a mass of disfiguring bruises, broken bones and thick gashes. His lower right arm was cut off at the elbow and the upper one was completely missing. Both of his legs were bent at awkward angles and his face had been badly damaged, leaving him with only one good eye.

"K-k-kill me," he heard Ragx beg. "I-if y-you're a true w-warrior you will g-grant me d-death."

Marcus aimed his ring at Ragx and emitted a soft blue light from his ring. Another alien similar to Ragx, but female, appeared in front of him. She leaned down and placed her two left hands on his chest and his wounds started to heal.

"Please do not serve the Empire any longer Arnnor," she said to him. "It will be the end of you. And remember I will always love you, my son." The image faded as she kissed him on the head and he couldn't help but let a tear escape. All of his wounds had completely healed. His arms had grown back, his legs had been set straight and there was no trace of blood, cuts or bruises anywhere on his body. Even the old scars on his face had been healed. He stood up and faced Marcus.

"Why did you show me that?" he asked with a mixture of anger and confusion. "And why did you heal me? It would have been easier to kill me."

"To the first question I don't know. I guess the ring shows you what you need to see while your being healed." Marcus replied. "As for the second one, The Blue Lanterns stand for peace and hope. Killing you would go against everything we believe in. Everything I believe in."

Ragx, no Ragx was dead, he was Arnnor once again, looked Marcus in the eye and said, "Thank you." Then turned and walked away.

"Hey where are you going?"

Without stopping he said, "I'm free to do whatever I want now," he looked at Marcus over his shoulder. "I just need to find out what I want to do." he jumped over a large pile of rubble and was out of sight.

"Well now that's taken care of, I better help the others," he said and took off into the skies.

**-00000-**

When Marcus finally made it back to the island he realised that his help wasn't needed. The other four invaders had been subdued and where being held by constructs made by the two Guardians. All eyes turned to him as he landed.

"Hey guys, did you miss me," he said with a grin from ear to ear.

"Marcus, you are a sight for sore eyes," Saint Walker said smiling.

"What have you done with Ragx," shouted a large rodent like alien.

Marcus turned his attention to the alien. "I beat him and left him buried under a mountain," he lied

"Impossible, no one can defeat Ragx," it shouted back.

"Really, then how come I'm here and he is not," he shot back.

The aliens all looked at each other as though deciding on what to do, then the rodent alien spoke up.

"Ragx has fallen and the mission has failed," he said with both fear and determination. "Active Dematerialization cores now." Before anyone understood what was going on and stop them, as one the aliens pressed a hidden button on their suits. There was a crackle of energy around them and then they vanished before their eyes.

"Where did they go?" asked Marcus.

"They didn't go anywhere," said Ganthet. "They dematerialization." He saw the confused look on Marcus's face and explained. "It means that they destroyed themselves on the sub-atomic level, there is nothing left of them.

"Who would do something like that to themselves?" asked Sister Sercy.

"Those who did not want to us to find out where they came from or incur the wrath of their masters," Sayd explained.

"Who or what could be so frightening that they would rather kill themselves than face defeat?" Marcus asked.

"I do not know Marcus," Sayd replied. "But pray that we never find out."

While they were talking they did not notice the ship leave the planet and disappear from the system.

**-00000-**

Marcus told them everything, from him leading the invaders away, to finding the Sky-blue man again, the discovery of the crystal cave, and its accidental destruction in the fight with Ragx, to learning the Oath and Ragx's reformation as Arnnor.

Saint Walker placed a hand on Marcus's shoulder. "Marcus, you have achieved much during your trials, more than any of us had during ours. I am proud to call you Brother.

The other lanterns expressed their joys in their own ways. Brother Hymn shook his hand, Brother Warth gave him a near bone crushing hug, and Sister Sercy gave him a kiss on each cheek, which made him blush. Ganthet floated up to Marcus and shook his hand, followed by Sayd.

"Marcus, if you would follow us," said Ganthet.

He fell in behind the two Guardians, with the other lanterns in tow, making their way to the central power battery. They stopped in front of it and Ganthet turned to face them. Marcus had the feeling he was supposed to get down on one knee as though he was being knighted, he did so and Ganthet seemed pleased that he did so without being asked.

"Marcus, do you swear to uphold the standards of the Blue Lantern Corps and do all that is within your power to bring Hope and peace to all you can?"

"I do."

"Do you swear that no matter the being or their crimes they have committed, you will try and turn them to the path of Light and forgive their sins?"

"I do."

"Finally do you swear that, even in the Blackest of Nights, you will never give up in the fight for the light?"

"I do."

"Now recite the Oath in front of the central power battery, and take your place among your Brothers and Sister."

Marcus got to his feet and took two steps forward. With confidence born from all he had achieved in the last three days, he recited the Oath.

**"In fearful days and raging nights,**

**With strong hearts full our souls ignite!**

**When all seems lost in the war of light,**

**Look to the stars, for hope burns bright!"**

A bright warming light emitted from the center of the battery and within the light, a smaller version of itself was formed. The lantern set itself down in front of Marcus and he picked it up.

"This is your personal Power Battery," Ganthet said. "It will allow you to recharge your ring whenever you need to. Just recite the Oath while holding your ring to it and it will recharge your ring to its full capacity. It also symbolises your full membership into our order." Ganthet floated in front of him. "Welcome to the Blue Lantern Corps, Brother Marcus."

A round of cheers came from his fellow Lanterns and even Marcus felt the need to cheer.

**-00000-**

"Are you sure?" Marcus asked Ganthet.

"We cannot keep you here if you wish to return home, Brother Marcus," said Ganthet. "You are a Blue Lantern not a prisoner. Besides I foresee that Earth will have great need of you in the near future."

Marcus had a mixture of emotions running through him, happiness that he would see his friends and mother again, and sadness of leaving his new Brothers and Sister after only a short time together.

"Thank you Ganthet for everything," he said then louder, "and thank you everyone for believing in me, for training me and for being there for me throughout the last few days.

"You are quite welcome, Brother Marcus," said Ganthet. "And I wish you a safe journey home."

"Right about that, how do I get home?" Marcus asked.

"Just think of your home and the ring will take you there," Saint Walker told him.

"Sounds easy enough," he said. "If nobody minds, I'm going to get going, I hate long goodbyes and it's a long trip home, I think." He stopped. "Oh I forgot something," he said pulling out the small marble shaped crystal from his pocket. "I found this in the cave," he said handing it to Ganthet. "I guess it's the only one of those crystals left."

"No, it's much more than that," said Ganthet. "This is a Conduit Crystal, an extraordinarily rare form of crystal that charges itself on residual Will Energy." Ganthet looked at it for a moment before handing it back to Marcus. "I'd like you to have it."

"Are you sure? I mean won't you need it more than me?"

Ganthet shook hir head. "We are attempting to negotiate with the Guardians of Oa to allow the Blue Lanterns to partner with the Green Lanterns. If we are successful then we will have no need for the crystal."

"Thank you," he said placing it in his pocket, "for everything."

"You are most welcome," replied Ganthet. "Due to its small size it will only give you access to your ring's full capabilities for about one Earth hour. Furthermore it will take some time to recharge, so use it wisely.

"I will and thanks again for everything. I'll visit whenever I can," he shouted as he took off into the sky. He left Odym behind at high speed; there was something that he needed to do.

Ganthet and Sayd watched Marcus fly off home and continued to watch even when the Blue Lanterns returned to their duties.

"Do you think we should have told him?" Sayd asked Ganthet.

"No," he replied. "We have no proof and telling him would just put the weight of a world on his shoulders."

"But the prophecy," she said. "Hope will rise from a city in despair…"

"A tainted life will be his to end or spare," Ganthet ended. "But until we know more, I will not worry him over nothing."

"I hope you are right Ganthet."

"As do I Sayd, as do I."

**-00000-**

**Esperanza Perdida, Spain**

**Mat 28****th**** 00:16**

Miguel Romanoff – leader of La Muerte – sat in his Lazy-Boy office chair, puffing on an expensive cigar to celebrate the dissolution of Los Corredores. A few days ago one of his men had thrown one of their best runners into Dead Man's Crevice, and in the days that followed the pathetic ragtag gang had dissolved into nothing.

The city may look like the back end of hell, but where most people saw suffering, he saw potential. He was going to tear the city down and build a New Las Vegas right on top of the ruins. And the people here had already named his new empire, Esperanza Perdida – Lost Hope. All he had to do now was get the people to hand over their homes, which shouldn't be a problem now that Los Corredores was out of commission.

He sat back and took another puff of his cigar when he heard a commotion outside. He shrugged his shoulders. It was probably some junkies trying to steal something they could sell, nothing his guards couldn't handle. But the commotion grew louder and eventually he slammed his hands on his desk and shouted.

"What in the hell is going on out there?!"

As soon as the words left his mouth his lead thug flew through the doors, hit the wall next to him and was knocked unconscious. Miguel made a grab for his gun but was hit in the chest with blast of blue energy and fell back into his chair. He rubbed his chest and winced, it felt like he was tackled by a rugby player. He looked up and saw a lanky brown haired teen in a blue, black and white jumpsuit and blue domino mask, floating in front of him.

"You the guy in charge?" asked the teen.

He made another grab for his gun but the teen flew at him and kicked him in the chest and knocked him to the floor. Miguel tried to get up but the teen pinned him to the floor with his foot and aimed his fist with a glowing blue ring on the middle finger at his head.

"I'll ask again," the teen said. "Are you the guy in charge?"

"Yeah I am!" Miguel yelled. "What of it?"

"I want you to pack up your weapons and thugs, leave and never return, or else."

"Or else what?"

A blue bolt of energy leapt from his ring and blew a hole in the floor two inches from his head.

"Or else that," the teen threatened.

"Wait a minute," Miguel said angrily.

"No," the teen said menacingly. "La Muerte have hurt these people long enough. You either get out of the city while you can or you will be berthing through a hole in your head."

Miguel laughed, "You don't scare me kid, I've got politicians, cops and judges in my back pocket, and if they disagree with me I always got stuff on them they don't want to get out."

"So you're blackmailing them?" the teen asked.

"Are you stupid or something, of course I'm blackmailing them." The teen began to laugh. "What's so funny?" He got his response when the teen pulled out a tape recorder and pressed play.

"**You don't scare me kid, I've got politicians, cops and judges in my back pocket, and if they disagree with me I always got stuff on them they don't want to get out."**

"**So you're blackmailing them?" **

"**Are you stupid or something, of course I'm blackmailing them."**

The teen pressed stop. "And you called me stupid."

"Crap," Miguel said defeated.

**-00000-**

**Barcelona, Spain**

**June 18****th**** 13:09**

Over the next few weeks Marcus juggled his time between his friends, his mother and his life as a superhero, though it was very exhausting. He had told his friends that he had fallen onto a ledge down in Dead Man's Crevice and survived by eating the meal he hadn't delivered yet and a bottle of water he had in his backpack, and that Blue Lantern had saved him just before he had taken down La Muerte. Even though he looked well fed and healthy his friends were so glad to have him back they believed him.

As he figured his dad hadn't realized he had been gone. He had spent so much of his time running his online company that he just thought that Marcus had stayed at a friend's house. Marcus didn't bother telling him that he had been gone; it wouldn't make much difference now.

His mom was still the same as when he left her. She stayed in her room at the hospital most of the time, switching between personalities so quickly that in left her in a near constant daze. Sometimes the real her would emerge for a while and Marcus would spend every second he could with her before she relapsed again. He enjoyed these moments but dreaded her mind leaving again.

As Blue Lantern he would patrol both Barcelona and Esperanza Perdida – which had now been renamed Esperanza Azul – and stopping any and all crimes he came across. It was hard work but it felt rewarding.

Marcus came home from a day of patrolling the city feeling very tired and decided to take a much needed break. He grabbed a bottle of ice-cold water from the fridge and retired to his room. His room was covered from wall to wall with posters and his own drawings. There was very little room for anymore but he pulled out his art supplies and got to work. He had barely begun drawing when a tapping noise grabbed his attention.

At his window a small black bat was tapping against the glass. He tried to ignore it and get back to his drawing but it persisted. Finally he had enough and went o open the window to scare it off. But upon opening it, the bat flew in and landed on his bed. He went to try and grab it but before he could even blink a light shone from its mouth and a 3D hologram of a man in a black mask and cape appeared. Batman was famous even over the ocean.

"Blue Lantern," Batman's hologram said. "I'm putting together a team of heroes and I want you to be a part of it." he said bluntly. "I can't make you but if you choose to join follow the bat and it'll lead you to me. I can't tell you any more than this, anyone could be listening in. But the world is at stake and it needs all the heroes it can get." The hologram vanished and the bat waited for his decision.

He couldn't believe he was being asked to join a team of heroes. He was being given the chance to do something greater than what he was currently doing, he should have felt excited, and yet he did not. Joining this team would mean leaving his mom behind, and he may not see her again if something goes wrong. He told the robot bat to wait for him and it seemed to understand. Then he went to see his mom.

It was only a short flight to the hospital and being a regular visitor it didn't take long to be allowed to see her. When he got to her room he could hear her mumbling to herself. Steeling himself for whatever state she was in, he entered the room. His mom was sat on her bed, staring out into the sky. He walked up to her and he could hear some of what she was mumbling.

"No …. too … won't … can't … ok … save … from … Darkness."

He couldn't understand what she was talking about but something had her spooked. He sat down on the chair next to her. "Mom, are you ok?" he asked

She let out a sigh, "I'm fine Marcus," she said, "just a little tired." She sounded more coherent now than she had done in the last five years.

"Do you want to go to bed?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "Not yet. Not while I'm still me." she turned to him and said, "Is there something you wanted to ask me Marcus?"

He didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Mom have you ever been asked to do something that would help a lot of people but in doing so you may not see the people you love as much as you want?"

"Yes," she replied without hesitation. "And while I sometimes regret it, I know it's for the greater good."

"What was it you did?" he asked, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that her mind was going again, "Mom?"

"Marcus, the world needs you, please don't put me before its needs." she leant forward and kissed him on the forehead. "Remember that I will always love you."

"I love you too mom," he said just before her mind faded once again. He didn't want to sit here and while she muttered to herself, he wasn't sure he could take it. He got up and went to leave when he suddenly remembered his ring. He had been so busy lately that he forgot that he could heal her with it. He aimed his ring at her and let it immerse her in its healing light. Nothing happened at first, but then she let out a gasp, her eyes turned white and she spoke with an inhuman voice.

"**The Prodigy's choice will seal his fate,**

**Through an enemy, a path he creates.**

**A Fortress in the Sky, his destiny unfurled,**

**A battle to end with the Eye of the World."**

Once she had finished her haunting speech his mom returned to normal – as normal as she could be – and fell asleep. He rushed to her side. "Mom, are you ok?" he said with a panic.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Thank you Marcus," she said before falling back to sleep.

He called for the doctors and they had come running. He waiting outside for the news, dreading every second that passed. Eventually a doctor came out with a smile and a confused look on his face.

"Your mother is fine Mr Rodrigues," he told him. "In fact she's better than fine. She seems to be recovering, and while there are some traces of her condition, we think that she'll make a full recovery in a few weeks."

"It's a miracle," Marcus said knowing full well that he ring had done it.

"That's the only plausible explanation," the doctor said with a laugh. "Anyway we're going to let her rest for a while, so if it's not too much trouble to ask if you could come visit another day?"

"You're the doc, doc," he said only just able to contain his joy. "Call me when it's ok to visit," he told the doctor, giving him his number. "I've got something to do."

"I will, and whatever it is, good luck."

"Thanks," he replied before taking off at a run. He'd decided that he was going to join Batman's team.

**-00000-**

As soon as he had gotten home he packed what he needed and told the bat he was going to join. The bat flew out of his window and Marcus followed. He hadn't told his dad where he was going – not that he would notice anyway – and he'd told his friends that he was going on vacation his aunt. He hated lying to his friends and he didn't want to leave his mom now that she was getting better. But she had told him not to put her needs before the World's.

"I guess being a hero is all about lying and sacrifice," he said out loud.

The bat had led him to an abandoned junk yard on the outskirts of the city and it stopped in front of a small shed.

"So, what, Batman's lair is in a shed," he said to the bat, but it just hovered there. Open in the door the bat flew in and Marcus followed. The door shut behind him and a computerised voice spoke. **"Authorisation confirmed. Recognised B30, Blue Lantern."** In a flash of light he was gone, transported to his destination.

A bolt of orange lightning raced through the junkyard and torn through several rusted cars before despairing before it could reach the shed. Before it had disappeared it let out a scream "NO!"

**-00000-**

**Sector 2016**

The Queen of the Crimson Alliance of the Ever Glorious Empire stood on the observation deck of the_ To'raken_ – a Titan class destroyer – admiring the battle on the planet below. She never enjoyed the deaths of other sentient beings, only barbarians and monsters enjoyed death. But she enjoyed battle. She enjoyed watching the enemy generals act and react against her forces. She enjoyed watching the enemy try tactic after tactic only to fail. She enjoyed watching as the two armies clash together in the ultimate struggle for survival. If there were such thing as a perfect form of art, surely it must be war.

"My Lady Erat," said a voice over the intercom.

"What is it? I am enjoying the battle," she said in an ice cold voice

"It's Ragx my lady. He and his men were defeated."

"I didn't expect him to win."

"Yes My Lady but I think you should observe his battle," he paused for a second before adding, "it is most interesting."

"Very well, put it up on screen. But I warn you that if this is a waste of my time you will be dematerialized, slowly.

"Yes my lady," he said and transferred the recoding of the battle to her monitor.

She watched with glee as the battle play out before her. It was intense, and she savoured every second of it. The Lanterns had been on the run from the start but when a young one left the force field and engaged Ragx the tide of the battle had turned. The scout drone had followed the young one and Ragx fight all the way to a cave, where after a brutal and wonderful struggle the Lantern won in an explosion of blue light. The drone had been destroyed in the explosion but it's receiver had survived and had made it back to the Citadel.

"Tell me, where is this Lantern from?" she said pointing to the young one.

"Scans show that he is human my Lady, from Earth in Sector 2814."

"How long many more sectors must we convert before we reach 2814."

"Twenty-four my lady, and at our rate of conversion it will take several years before we reach Earth.

Lady Erat shut down the monitor and continued to watch the battle below. "I am a patient woman," she said aloud. "I believe that I could wait a few years for a battle, no matter how tempting it may be." She turned off the intercom then added, "But if I cannot wait then the Empire will have a new Empress." She laughed softly to herself and already she began plotting ways to overthrow the Emperor.

**-00000-**

**End of chapter 03**


	5. The Curse of Blood

**This is the origin story for FresianFire's character Satana "Anya" Chambers and the first origin chapter that isn't a redo. YAY.**

**Chapter 04**

**The Curse of Blood**

**San Francisco, California **

**25****th**** May 18:16**

Satana Chambers sat in her room, trying to read her book while doing everything she could to try and keep cool. She had three electric fans on the go, her windows were wide open and she had drunk several glasses of ice water but she was still sweating buckets. It had been another scorching hot day in the city and Satana had had enough. For the past two weeks the city had succumbed to an intense heat wave, and it gave no respite. Most of the city was suffering and nothing seemed to help. The only creature she knew of that seemed unaffected by the heat was her black cat Hecate, who was lying comfortably on her bed, curled up and fast asleep.

Satana's usual long, curly, crimson red hair lay flat on her head, completely soaked in her own perspiration, and her dark, emerald eyes had trouble focusing on her book. Her clothes were soaked through and clung to her curvy, fit body, and her lightly tanned skin glistened with moisture. After a few more minutes she gave up trying to read her book and placed it flat on the desk. She closed her eyes and hung her head back.

"Why is it so hot?" she grumbled. "It feels like hell." Satana had lived in San Francisco for the past eight years and she had never known it to been this hot. During the day temperatures could rise as high as 40°C and even at night the temperature never dropped below 30°C.

It was then that she had an idea. Stripping of her sweat stained clothes and dumping them in her wash basket, she went for an ice cold shower. The feeling of the cold water on her body was exquisite after the inferno she had just put up with. Had her mind been working correctly she'd have though to do this early, but the heat had been scrabbling her brain. After forty minutes in ice-cold heaven she left the shower and lay on her bed in just her towel, not wanting to put on clothes just yet. She didn't have to worry about her foster parents walking in on her, she kept her door locked at all times, whether she was in it or not. She valued her privacy above almost anything else.

Her foster parents, Mark and Jane, weren't really foster parents in Satana's opinion. They were more like a combination of butler, maid and school teachers. They never gave her a real curfew, they didn't ask her to do any chores and they did most things for her, even though she had asked them not to. The only thing they were even slightly strict on where her home-school lessons, and even then they were still quite timid. Though with her past that was understandable, if somewhat infuriating.

Satana was the daughter of a super-villainess called The Red Witch, and she suspected they thought she would follow in her mother's footsteps as a dark sorceress. But in truth she couldn't really remember much about her past or her mother, and given the stories she heard she was not sure that she wanted too. The small bits and pieces that she did remember frightened her and she had pushed them as far back into her mind as she could. But that was all irrelevant as she had never in her life shown any signs that she had any magical capabilities, so no-one had reason to fear her. But they did nonetheless.

Hecate woke up just long enough to reposition herself next to her then fell back to sleep. She smiled and scratched her behind the ear. She responded with a happy purr but didn't wake up. She envied her cat sometimes, nothing seemed to faze her. She seemed to be able to put up anything, whether it was the heat, the cold or even loud noises she never even so much as registered it unless she could eat it or get attention from it. Hecate was her oldest and best friend, the two of them had been together since she first moved into her foster parent's house and she was he only one who didn't treat her like she was strange or different.

"It's just you and me, isn't it, Hecate," she sighed. She loved Hecate but she would have liked it if other people treated her like a normal sixteen year old girl and not like a freak of nature.

The heat was starting to get unbearable again, even with just a towel on. She couldn't take it anymore, she needed to get out of here and find somewhere to keep cool before she melted into a puddle. Getting up she dried and curled her hair and let it cascade down to the middle of her back with her bangs framing her face. Just how she liked it. Then she got dressed into her white tank-top, blue skinny jeans with a black belt and her black combat boots. To top her outfit off she put on her ear studs and her sliver cross necklace. She almost picked up her leather jacket but with this heat she decided to leave it. She said bye to Hecate, who didn't bother to respond, picked up her handbag and left her room.

Walking down the stairs she saw her foster parents sitting on the couch in the living room, watching some romantic comedy. Not wishing to bother them she strode silently past them into the kitchen to grab the bottle of water she had stuck in the freezer earlier. The water inside the bottle had completely turned to ice. She held it to her head and enjoyed the cooling effect it had on her. Leaving the kitchen she went to the front door to go for a walk, hoping that it would be at least a little cooler outside, only to run into her foster mom.

"Satana?" she said sounding confused. "Where are you going?"

"I thought I'd go for a walk," Satana answered passively. "It's too hot in my room and I thought that a stroll would help me cool down."

"O-ok," she stuttered. "But be careful."

Satana hated the way she feared her but she didn't say so, it would only make things worse. "I will. I'll be back about nine." She walked past her and opened the door. Before she left she turned back to her foster mom. "And Jane, thanks."

"What for?" Jane asked.

"For everything," Satana replied and stepped outside, shutting the door behind her.

**-00000-**

The temperature outside wasn't much better than indoors but at least there was a slight breeze to make things a tiny bit more tolerable. From her house she had a good view of the San Francisco Bay. Even though see disliked most things about this place – the heat, her foster parents etc. – she liked the view. She loved the water and had been to the bay and walked along its edge many times over the years and found it a good place to go the clear her head. Today though she was going there to cool off, she just hoped that the breeze was better down there.

Taking off at a brisk stroll, she navigated her way through the streets towards the bay. On her way she saw many people had the same idea as her and were outside trying to get cool. Most were just lazing about in lawn chairs or lying on the grass, while others were hanging out in groups drinking beer. On more than one occasion a group of men would wolf whistle at her or offer to share an ice cold beer, others made more lewd offers but she ignored them all. She was not interested in hanging out with a bunch of sweaty, intoxicated Neanderthals. She expected a confrontation with one of them but they were too hot to be bothered to try anything, which was good for her because she couldn't be bothered with them either.

Nearing the bay she felt the air get cooler as the breeze came in from the ocean. If she had brought her swimsuit with her she'd have been tempted to go for a swim regardless of the danger. She wasn't one for taking risks but the heat was driving her crazy and nothing felt quite as good as the feel of water on the skin. Approaching the edge of the bay she could see the sun hanging low in the sky, ready to set, and hear the gentle lapping of the waves, which was the only sound to be heard. If it wasn't for the scorching heat it would have been a perfect day. Thankfully the breeze was like an ice pack on her skin, in comparison with the heat. Satana sat down on a nearby bench and closed her eyes, letting herself be taking in by her peaceful surroundings, slowly drifting off.

**-00000-**

She was eight years old again; frightened and lonely in a small shack, deep in the Louisiana bog. Her mother, Helia, The Red Witch, paced the shack impatiently while Satana sat quietly in the corner, trying not to make a sound, for fear of incurring her wrath. Even at eight years old Satana knew better than to disturb her mother when she was in one of her moods. Satana was the spitting image of her mother. They had the same curly, crimson red hair, the same dark emerald eyes and even the same face. And although she was thirty years old she didn't look older than twenty.

"Where is she?" her mother growled, her long hair flicking behind her as she sharply paced the room. "She knows it's dangerous for us to meet like this." She stopped and fixed her cold dark emerald green eyes on her. "And when she gets here you keep your mouth shut," she scolded Satana. "I don't want to get on The Black Witch's bad side just because you opened your mouth." Satana nodded and tried to push herself even further into the corner, to get away from her mother's harsh gaze.

Before her mother could speak again, a thin, silver vertical slash appeared on the opposite side of the room. It widened to about four foot, slicing through anything that happened to be in its way like they were nothing. A woman stepped through and with a wave of her hand the silver doorway vanished the same way it appeared. The woman was beautiful and looked no older than Satana's mother. She had long, silky dark hair, two crystal blue eyes and a perfectly formed face with full ruby red lips, which gave a warm inviting smile. She wore a simple yet elegant black evening dress with matching shoes and a black crystal necklace. She looked like a young woman going to spend the night out than a witch.

In contrast, Helia wore a much more fitting outfit for her role. She wore an extravagant red robe, decorated with various magical symbols and a variety of magical charms and trinkets around her neck and wrists to help her with her many spells and rituals.

"Helia," The Black Witch greeted.

"Lanfear," Helia responded.

"Why have you risked our Order and called me here?"

The Black Witch looked at her and without changing her pleasant expression she told her. "The Order of Silence is no more."

Stunned, it took Helia a moment to reply. "What are you taking about?"

"They've all been captured, or killed," she told her as though she was discussing the weather. "Though their fate is irrelevant, our order is finished."

"Who has done this?" she growled. "And why was I not informed?"

"You were not informed because you had hidden yourself from us. And I suspect this pretty, young thing is the reason for your secrecy," she gestured to Satana. Lanfear walked over to her. "Hello young one, what's your name?" she asked.

"Satana," she answered quietly.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Lanfear told her. "I have a son about your age." Satana could only stare at the Black Witch. No one had been nice to her in a long time, so she didn't know how to respond.

"You have not answered my first question," Helia said impatiently.

"It was Doctor Fate," Lanfear answered nonchalantly, turning away from Satana, to look Helia in the eyes.

"Impossible," she screeched. "Kent Nelson is dead."

"Nabu has a new host. The wizard Zatara now wears the Helmet of Fate," she told Helia. "And he is not alone; he has his several members of the Justice League with him.

Helia slumped against the wall of her shack. "Then we are doomed," she said defeated. "If we are truly the only ones left, we don't stand a chance against them."

"No, we don't. So I suggest that you run, and hide in the deepest, darkest crevice that you can find. Only then do you have a chance to survive. Only then will your plans come to fruition."

Before her mother could make a decision a deafening boom ripped the small shack asunder and Satana put her hands over her ears and shut her eyes as tightly as she could. The sounds of battle could be heard raging on but she couldn't open her eyes out of fear. She heard her mother scream, and then all went silent. Opening her eyes a fraction she saw her mother, lying on the ground and there was no sign of Lanfear. Standing over her mother was a tall man wearing a golden helmet that covered most of his head and a long, high collared cape, fastened with two large buttons. Beneath it was a blue shirt with a golden oval set in the chest. He also wore a large golden belt with a circle in the center, and deep blue pants with golden boots. Several other heroes were searching the forest but she could only make out a girl with long black hair wearing a feminine magician's garb.

Satana was awestruck. She had seen what her mother could do, what she was capable of, and yet there she was, lying on the ground in a heap, defeated and helpless, beaten by this man in the golden helmet. Gingerly she made her way over to the man, taking care with each step. Even though she kept her eyes down she could feel the gaze of the man on her as she approached. The man's feet came into view and she cautiously raised her head to meet his eyes. While she couldn't make out his expression behind the mask, his eyes shone with a kindness she had never seen before. "Are you a good guy?" she asked him.

"I am Doctor Fate, a Lord of Order." He answered in a deep, two-toned voice. He could see that Satana didn't understand so he added. "To answer your question, yes, I am a good guy."

Satana looked at the body of her mother and saw her chest rising and falling in rhythm. She was still alive. "Will you take me away from her?" she asked, forcing back a sob.

"Yes," the Lord of Order answered. "Your mother must pay for her crimes. But her sins are not your own and you will not suffer the same fate as her.

For the first time in her short, miserable life she felt happy. She jumped at him and locked her arms around his leg in a tight hug. "Thank you," she cried, with tears streaming down her face.

"You are most welcome," he said, his voice betraying his confusion. "I shall attempt to find you a new home; and a way for you to live your life without your mother's dark deeds hanging over you." He bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder…

**-00000-**

…and she snapped out of her dream with a start. Holding her hand to her head as a dull pain thumped inside her head. It had been a long time since that memory had last surfaced; she had almost forgotten the event that led to her liberation from her mother. It was the only memory that she wanted to hold on to forever. The only problem with it was that every time it surfaced, others would too. With a happy tear running down her cheek, she said a silent thank you to Doctor Fate, her saviour, before pushing the memories to the back of her mind once again.

Once she had accomplished her task she stared up at the sky she saw that the sun had long since set, she must have been asleep for hours. Thankfully everything was still in order, her handbag was still next to her and it still had all its contents, and nobody had disturbed her while she had slept. But it was still risky to be out here at this time of night. She went to get up to begin her journey back home, when she bumped into somebody and fell back onto the bench. Looking up she saw who, or rather what, she had bumped into.

Standing in front of her was the strangest man she had ever seen. The man was over seven feet tall, as thin as a whip and completely hairless. His skin was a sky blue colour and his eyes were two silver orbs. He wore a silver robe and a matching pair of silver sandals. The Sky-blue man stared right into Satana's eyes and a vision played out in her mind.

Two figures, a woman in a red hooded robe and a creature shrouded in black smoke, stood facing each other on separate platforms in the middle of an ocean of twisted bodies. The black creature dwarfed the woman – both in size and power – in the same way an ocean did a lake. But the woman was unmoved by the creature's terrifying visage, for in the woman's hand was a shaft of pure light. The woman raised the sword and the creature howled. Hundreds of silver tendrils extended from the shaft of light to the red robed woman and she began to battle with the titanic creature. The world around the two tore and burned at the intensity of their power, fading into nothingness. At the pinnacle of the battle the red robed woman unleashed a thin beam of white-gold energy just as the creature let loose a stream of dark red. The two energies collided and everything went dark.

Satana snapped back to reality and began to pant heavily. She had no idea what that was, but something about that vision frightened her to her very core. She looked up at the Sky-blue man and he stared back at her, examining her like she was something very interesting. Satana reached for her handbag, not breaking eye contact, and prepared herself to run. But her handbag wasn't there. It was in the Sky-blue man's hand. Without even a word he handed it to her and she cautiously took it from his long skeletal fingers. He nodded to Satana and within a blink of her eyes her had gone, vanished into thin air. Without thinking she ran, determined to get as far away from here as possible, unaware that her handbag was now heavier than it had been, and unaware that she was being followed.

**-00000-**

She came to a stop several blocks away, out of breath and unsure of where she was. She hadn't been paying attention to where she was going; she had just run without a route in mind. And now she was lost. Had there been daylight she could have found her way home easily but at night it was a different matter. Only half the streetlights were working – apparently another side-effect of the heat – and there were no visible signs to help her either. But she wouldn't get anywhere by standing here so she started walking, hoping she was going in the right direction. An enormous clap of thunder startled her. Looking up, thick black clouds now blanketed the skies and small streaks of lightning raced across them.

"Great," she said sarcastically. "As if things couldn't get any worse, now we get a storm"

But she spoke too soon. She heard footsteps coming up behind her, approaching at a fast pace. She reached into her handbag and took hold of the can of mace she kept in case of emergencies. She had never had to use it before but it looked as though that would change. The footsteps stopped a distance from her, too far to use her spray. She was about to break into a run when the person spoke.

"Helia?" he asked. "Helia Chambers?"

Satana should have run, this man knew her mother and that was bad news in her book. But she felt something inside her awaken, a curiosity that was forcing her to stay. She turned round and faced him with an emotionless expression, though her fear lay just below the surface. He was a tall man, with an athletic build, clad in a simple red hooded robe, hiding his face.

"Sorry, do I know you?" she asked him.

"Ah, you are not Helia, my mistake," he said to her in a silky voice. He pulled his hood back revealing a Caucasian man in his early thirties, with short dark hair and stormy grey eyes. "And yet the resemblance is uncanny, you could be sisters. Though I suspect that it is more likely that you are her daughter."

"Sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about," she lied. "My mother died years ago."

"Do not try to lie to me," he said calmly. "There are spells that can easily penetrate the veil of deception."

Satana's emotionless mask fell from her face and replaced by one of terror. This man was a sorcerer, and worse he knew her mother. Her compulsion to stay faded rapidly and now she wanted nothing more than to run as fast and as far as she could. But she couldn't, her legs wouldn't respond. Memories of her mother had rushed to the surface of her mind and paralysed her with fear. She couldn't move, or even speak.

"There is no need to be frightened my dear," he told her. "I wish you no harm, if you cooperate.

"S-stay away from me," she told him.

He chuckled. "I see you need a bit of convincing." His eyes glowed gold for a split second and Satana's mind became numb, her shoulders slumped and she felt as light as a feather. "There, doesn't that feel better."

"Yes," she said emotionlessly.

"Good, I'd have preferred you came with me willingly, but you are just as much use to our cause sedated."

"What do you want me to do?" She wondered.

"Our order is looking to free our Lord and Master from his prison deep in the depths of hell. And we need the blood of a powerful witch to do it."

"I'm sorry but I can't help you," she told him. "I'm not a witch."

"You truly believe you are not a witch?" He said, staring into her soul. "Hmm, there is some truth to your belief; you only have trace amounts of magic within you. It's as if your powers have been taken from you. No matter, there are ways to restore your powers in time for our ritual." He walked towards the sedated teen. "We'd have preferred your mother's blood, but yours will be more than sufficient for our needs." He stopped in front of her and held out his hand. "Now come with me my dear, we have a lot of work to do."

She reached out to take his hand when a black streak dashed between them, claws swiping at the robed man's face, drawing blood. Satana's cat, Hecate, had somehow found her and was now trying to protect her. The robed man aimed his hand at the cat and a red energy surrounded it. He was going to kill her.

That snapped her out of her stupor. "No!" she screamed at him. "Get away from her!" Before she or the man knew what was happening, red energy leapt from Hecate to Satana, and she aimed it at the sorcerer. The magic was released in wide waves of ribbon shaped energy, tearing the floors and walls of the street asunder before striking the robed man with enough force to level a building. The sorcerer was blasted off his feet and smashed into the side of a shop, smashing through the side of it.

Satana stared in both relief and horror at what she had done. She had saved Hecate and stopped this sorcerer from doing only god knows what with her. But the fear of becoming just like her mother had resurfaced. She had used magic and, despite all of her misgivings towards it, nothing had felt so wonderful and yet so dangerous. When she had unleashed it on that sorcerer, a euphoric sensation had spread through her body, and the desire to do so again was very strong. If magic had that effect on her how would she be able to control the urge to use it? How would she be able to stop herself becoming her mother?

Hecate rubbed herself up against Satana's legs and she couldn't help but smile. Hecate had a way of making her happy no matter what got her down. Leaning down she picked up her cat and hugged her. A groan brought her attention away from her cat. The sorcerer was pulling himself out from under the rubble. Satana held Hecate tightly in her arms and ran in the opposite direction, disappearing round a corner and away from that man.

**-00000-**

Marzim Taim pulled himself from the rubble, aching and wounded in several places. He had underestimated that girl's power and had paid the price. He had nearly died, the only thing that saved him was the phoenix stone he had, and that was now useless. She was far more powerful than he anticipated. Not only had she managed to cause a great deal of damage but she had ripped through his shield as though it wasn't there. He'd need help to capture her and bring her to his master.

Casting a quick communication spell he broadcasted his message to his fellow brothers and sisters. _"I have found the one we need. She is the daughter of the Red Witch. Be wary, her powers are contained within her cat but she is still powerful and not to be underestimated."_

Steeping from the remains of the shop he began his pursuit of the Red Witch's daughter.

**-00000-**

Satana zigzagged her way through the streets and alleyways of San Francisco, clutching Hecate to her chest, trying to find somewhere for them to hide. She didn't want to go home, for fear that he would follow her and hurt her foster parents, and she didn't want to ask for help for the same reason. She had no delusions that he wouldn't hurt anyone who got in between him and her. Satana's only choice now was to try and use her magic, even though she was scared it was the only way to stop him. She just wished she knew how to do it.

She came to a stop on and leaned against a wall to catch her breath. It was getting hotter by the minute, making it harder and harder to run. She needed somewhere to hide, and fast. Without warning, Hecate leapt from her arms and took off down the street.

"Hey, get back here," she yelled after her cat as she gave chase. The cat led Satana down a series of twists and turns, always ahead of her but never out of sight. Hecate stopped in front of a large building and Satana grabbed her. "What's wrong with you?" she questioned her. Hecate looked to Satana then towards the building. Satana followed her cat's line of sight and saw that they had come to a stop outside the San Francisco Library. Hope flared up inside her. If she could get in there it would make the perfect hiding place. "Good work Hecate," she said rewarding her with a scratch behind the ear.

It was after hours and it should have been locked up tight, so it came as no surprise when the door wouldn't open. She was about to try to find another way in when she had an idea. Holding a hand up to the door she focused on it, trying to summon her magic to open the door. At first nothing happened, the entrance to the library remained sealed, but then a familiar red light like before leapt from Hecate into her. Once again the euphoric feeling flowed through her body, though this time it was much weaker. There was a small click and the door opened. She dashed inside and locked the door behind her.

The inside of the library was creepy at this time of night but compared to what she had been through it felt welcoming. She wondered through the halls of the library, looking for a secluded spot to hide and try to get a hold of her magic. She was dazed and drained of energy, both from all the running she had done and her magic. Apparently her magic took a toll on her body, or maybe she was just tired, she just didn't know enough about her powers to understand how they worked, at what price they came or why she seemed to be taking it from her cat.

Finding a desk on the far side of the building she sat down and tried to think, while Hecate sat and watched her. But she was exhausted, hot and thirsty and her mind would just not work. Reaching inside her handbag she went to pull out her bottle of water, only to find something else alongside it. She took her water and the unfamiliar object out of her bag to get a better look at it. It was a book, about half the size of a dictionary, with a red cover and on the front of it was the words "The Book of Magnus". She didn't understand how it had gotten into her handbag; it had not left her sight since… since the Sky-blue man had given it back to her. He must have put it in while she had been having that vision. Taking a sip of water, she opened the book and started to read.

"_I am Magnus the Great, the first mortal sorcerer of the Sixteenth Universe. If whoever reads this tome can understand its writings, they shall gain access to all the knowledge I possess of the magic that runs through them. This tome will aligns itself to you, its current owner, allowing you to learn only what you are capable of learning."_

"_I am not bound by the concept of right and wrong nor good and evil, you may use this all you learn as you will. But be warned, some knowledge is best left unlearned, for not all of the secrets I have unveiled are safe for the understanding of mortals, and many who have read this tome have met their end because of their boundless curiosity."_

Satana stared at the book in amazement. It was the ticket to understanding and controlling her powers. And although its introduction felt very ominous, she wasn't going to turn back now. Regardless of the dark message she pressed on, searching for the information she needed on her powers.

"_Magic is both simple and complex, it is a powerful force of nature and yet it is also something beyond the natural realm. Magic comes from many sources such as Light and Dark and Chaos and Order. Each one is unique and comes with different ways of channelling its power and the price that must be paid for it. A single source may empower hundreds of thousands of channelers at any one time, if not more."_

"_You, the current owner of this tome, draw your power from one of the sources of Dark Magic."_

A part of her already knew that this was where her power came from, but it still didn't make it any easier on her. Also the fact that the book was apparently communicating with her made Satana very uneasy. Steeling herself she skipped quickly through the pages, trying to find out how to call upon her magic. After scanning page after page she came across a chapter that shed some light on her situation.

_Magical Transference_

"_Magical transference, as its name suggests, is the act of moving magic from one object to another. The object used in this ritual becomes what is known as a Well. Any object can be used as a Well, even a living creature. Certain materials and creatures can hold a larger amount than others, such as silver or a cat."_

Satana looked up from the book to stare at Hecate, who was still watching her avidly. Her cat was a Well. That explained the red energy that had leapt from Hecate to her both time she had used her magic. But it didn't explain how Hecate had become a Well in the first place or how to get her magic out of her. She didn't want her magic back but she wasn't going to let Hecate carry her burden. Turning her attention back to the book, she read on.

"_To charge a Well one must draw from their source and then focus on the object that it to become a Well. The power is then pulled into the object rather than the channeler. Depending on the object used in this ritual and the strength of the channeler it may take anywhere from one to a dozen rituals to completely charge a Well. Each time this ritual is performed it will drain the channelers strength and energy as any ordinary spell would, so it is advised that the channeler rests afterwards to maximise the effects of the Well. No skill is necessary to do this, though Enchantment spells can improve the power of the Well slightly without costing the channeler any extra strength."_

Satana read the book with both intense curiosity and infuriation. She was absorbing every word like a sponge and she found herself wanting more, but nothing so far had answered her questions. She felt so angry that she wanted to tear every page from this book and burn them, though seeing how the book must have survived for thousands of years she doubted she could actually do any damage to it. Setting her anger aside she read on, and finally came across what she had been looking for.

"_A channeler can, if they wish, place their link to the source – or conduit as it is more commonly known – into an object, turning it into a medium and using it to draw their magic rather than of their own bodies, though some of the sources demand the use of a medium in order to channel its power."_

"_In some rare cases a full circle of channelers can forcible remove another's conduit and place it into an object against their wishes. This act is used when execution or severing – the act of permanently removing a channelers connection to their source – is not an option or when a young channeler becomes connected to their conduit too early for their body to handle."_

"_To restore a channeler's conduit to their body they simply have to touch the medium and focus on it. It matters not whether it was placed there by will or force, as long as the conduit belongs to them they can take it back. Be warned. Unless your source demands the use of a medium then destroying it will destroy the conduit too and you will lose your powers forever."_

Satana shut the book and sat there silently in deep thought, while Hecate cleaned herself. She now knew what had happened to her magic and why, and how to restore her powers. But did she really want it back? She had spent the last eight years worrying about becoming like her mother and now she realized it had all been for nothing. As long as she didn't restore her conduit that would never happen. But now it looked as though she had no choice. She didn't know what that sorcerer had planned for her, but she knew that she didn't want any part in it, and the only way out was to restore her powers. But more importantly she didn't want Hecate to get hurt.

"Well, Hecate," she said to her cat, "it looks like nightmares do come true." With a tear running down her cheek she placed her hands on Hecate and focused on her.

She could sense the power of her conduit hidden inside her cat, buried just below the surface but also hidden so that only Satana would have been able to find it. Somehow she knew what to do and let her consciousness flow into Hecate. She was so surprised by how easy it was she nearly recoiled in shock, but she braced herself and pressed on, determined to claim her cursed, unwanted birth right. She reached out with her mind and took hold of her conduit, pulling back into her body.

Satana did not expect what happened next, and even if she had, she wouldn't have been able to prepare for such an experience. It felt like frozen fire and molten ice was surging through her body, threatening to consume her. But it was not an unpleasant feeling, far from it. It was intoxicating, seductive and euphoric. It filled her with a power she could not have dared dream of. Her senses became hyper-sharpened, and the heat that had once been a hindrance was nothing more than a minor annoyance. The desire to draw more of this power was immense, and she wanted to give in to it, to surrender herself to the power. No wonder her mother was the way she was, this power was exquisite.

As soon as that thought had entered her mind Satana let out a scream and released the power in a violent explosion of black and red energy, destroying everything in its path. The only things that had survived her outburst were Hecate, the book, and a perfect circle of concrete, five feet in diameter, beneath her feet. Falling to her hands and knees she began to breathe heavily, greedily sucking in each breath of air as though it was her last. Her fears had almost come true. She had felt a darkness seeping into her very soul, threatening to turn her into her mother. She felt like crying again, but the tears would not come. She felt something cold and wet touch her hand. Raising her head she saw Hecate rubbing her nose against her. Picking her cat up, she pulled her close to her chest and was rewarded with the comforting sound of her purring.

It was funny. After all that had happened to her today, the Sky-blue man, the sorcerer and her restored powers, a simple thing like her cat purring seemed out of place. She began to laugh. First quietly, then louder, rising in volume until it echoed throughout the whole library. She was hysterical and she didn't care. When she calmed down, she realised that she wasn't alone. She could feel the presence of others all around her, watching her. Standing up so fast she nearly fell over again, she saw the sorcerer from early standing at the doorway, with a girl in a plain black hooded cloak at his side. She could feel others lurking in the shadows all around her, but she never took her eyes off of the dark haired sorcerer.

"My, my, it must have been quite some joke to cause a young girl to laugh as such," he said to her. Satana stared him right in his eyes with hatred and utter loathing. "I, however, have no time for jokes. So I will give you one last chance to come along quietly so we can all avoid any more unpleasantness."

"Screw you," she said coldly. She started to gather power to launch at him again, when she felt something snap between her and her source. She could not keep her shock hidden and she heard the sorcerer laughing.

"Nice try, Satana, but I know how powerful you can be, so I had this young lady here," he gestured the girl in the black cloak, "place a block around you to prevent you from accessing your magic." Satana glared at girl with revulsion, the anger inside her was boiling away, ready to explode. "Now grab her so we can go."

Other sorcerers and sorceresses were closing in around her, stepping out of the shadows. All of them wore similar robes to the dark haired sorcerer, all with their hoods up hiding their features. Even though her magic was blocked, she could sense the power within each of them, but compared to the anger raging on inside her theirs was nothing. She took a step back, ready to run, but when she turned round she saw that they had already anticipated her plan and two of them blocked the only other exit in the room. Hecate leapt from her arms and stood between her and the dark haired sorcerer, hissing at him in a vain attempt to scare him off and protect Satana.

"Such a courageous feline," the sorcerer mocked. He raised his hand and a ball of fire erupted from it, hurtling towards Hecate with deadly intent.

"NO!" Satana screamed. Her fear and rage exploded out of her, ripping through the block on her magic like it wasn't even there. Magic filled her till she felt like she was going to burst, and then released it as three separate spells on pure instinct. The first spell slowed time down to such an extent that even the fireball was moving at a snail's pace. The second spell created a silver slash in reality, just beneath Hecate's feet, which opened up into a portal leading to Satana's room. The third spell was a stronger version of the one she had accidently used to destroy this room, only moments before.

Time returned to normal and Hecate fell through the portal before the fireball could hit her and it snapped shut behind her. The fireball hit the pulse of near-invisible, magical energy Satana had unleashed and it dissipated. The pulse hit everyone in the room, scattering them like bowling pins in a hurricane, all except for the dark haired sorcerer and the young sorceress next to him, who had erected a black force-field to protect them both.

Satana let her rage guide her hand and she unleashed several blue fireballs and red lightning at the two that remained standing. But the shield didn't yield and she could feel her body draining of energy, it was only a matter of time before she fell over from exhaustion. But she wasn't going to give up, not now, after everything she had went through. Somehow she knew that she only had enough energy left for one last spell. She tried to focus and summon another portal. Another silver slash appeared in mid-air just in front of her, but before it could open, she was hit in the side of the head by what felt like a sledgehammer. Satana hit the floor hard and the portal vanished. She could feel herself losing consciousness and struggled in vain to remain awake. Satana saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned just enough to see the black robed girl walk over to her, then everything went black.

**-00000-**

"She was stronger than you thought," said the girl to Marzim Taim in a monotonous voice. "It looks as though you underestimated her again, despite your own warning."

"Shut up, girl," he spat. "It was your block that was ineffective."

"Had you, or any of your now deceased comrades, assisted me then this wouldn't have happened," she never took her eyes off of the comatose Satana, but she didn't need to look away to know what was coming.

Marzim Taim rushed over to the girl in four strides, spun her round and clamped his hand around her throat. "Don't push me, witch," he growled. "The only reason you're still alive is because our master has some use for you, so watch your tongue."

The girl's eyes flashed black and she slapped away Marzim's hand with black energy. "And remember that _our master_ would destroy you without a thought if any harm should befall me."

Marzim growled deeply, knowing what she said to be true. "Just get her back to the church. We only have a few hours left to prepare for the ritual, and I don't think our master will forgive either of us if he has to wait another three years to free out Lord."

The girl didn't answer. Instead she engulfed herself, Marzim and Satana in black energy that took the shape of a large bird, and they vanished from the library, leaving the destruction and the dead sorcerers behind.

**-00000-**

Satana lay on a hot stone floor, barely conscious, aching all over and drained of energy. Memories of all that had happened to her over the last few hours were flooding back to her in a collage of random images, making her head pound in agony. She wanted to just lay there and sleep until the nightmare that had become of her life was over. But the sounds of thunder and of men and women chanting in a language she didn't understand kept her from doing so. Opening her eyes she found herself in what appeared to be an old abandoned church, though not like any church she had even seen before. The walls were all blood red and there were strange, demonic symbols carved into them. There were large candles scattered all around the church producing unnatural purple flames. Instead of the usual church benches there were dozens of black, gothic looking chairs, half of which were occupied by red hooded figures. At the back of the room, there were a dozen or so more red robed figures standing around an altar, these were the ones chanting. The air between them rippled and distorted, and small sparks of lightning emanated from a small red sphere floating in the middle of all this.

But her attention soon turned elsewhere. She found that she was naked, stripped of every piece of clothing she had, her hands had been chained behind her back, but worst of all were the markings that had been painted on her body in what could only be blood, and it was not her own. With a struggle she managed to roll herself off of her side and pulled herself to her feet. She ran for the door but something stopped her, almost choking her in the process, and she fell painfully back to the floor. There was a metal collar around her neck with a long chain on it that was attached to a nearby wall.

"Escape is impossible," said a monotonous voice. It was the girl in the black robe from early. Satana tried to call on her magic again, but there was another block in place, stronger than the last on. "You won't be able to call on your magic this time," the girl said sadly. "Those symbols on your body are blocking you magical powers." The girl removed her hooded robe, revealing her full features. She was a couple of years younger than Satana, maybe being thirteen or fourteen. She had short black hair and indigo coloured eyes. She had a slim build, made only more obvious by the skin tight black jumpsuit, with a golden belt, she wore underneath. In the middle of her forehead was a small red gemstone.

She walked over to Satana and tried to put her robe on her to cover her up, but Satana snapped at her. "Get away from me, witch," she snarled.

The girl froze with a mix of sadness and understanding on her face. "Believe it or not, I am a prisoner as much as you are, maybe more so."

"Yeah right," she retorted sarcastically. "That's why I'm naked and chained and you're walking around free as a bird."

The girl shook her head. "I'm not as free as you might think," she told Satana, pointing at a small golden chain around her throat. Had she not pointed it out Satana wouldn't have seen it.

"What is that?" she asked cautiously.

"A Binding Chain," the girl told her. "It's what lets _my master_ control everything I do, no matter what he commands."

"I'm sorry," Satana said, all of her hatred for the girl had vanishing, to be replaced with pity and shame. While this girl had more freedom than her, she was a prisoner nonetheless.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. If our positions had been reversed I would feel the same way." The girl went to place the robe over her again, to cover up her naked body, and this time she didn't object. Even though they had just met she felt a sort of kinship with this girl, like they were cut from the same cloth.

"Thanks. What's your name?" she asked the girl.

"Rachael Roth," she told her.

"Satana Chambers," she replied. Despite her situation she now felt much calmer than she should have been.

"I'd say it's nice to meet you but, given the circumstance, it would be inappropriate." Rachael pulled a water bottle from her belt and held it out to Satana. "Here, take as much as you want."

Rachael held it to Satana's lips and she drank greedily from it, empting half the bottle. "Thanks again." Rachael sat beside Satana and didn't say another word. "So who are these guys and what do they want with me?" She asked after a long awkward silence.

The younger girl's eyes lowered to the floor. "They are the Order of Blood, one of the three orders of the Triumvirate of Hell. And they need your blood to open the Demon's Gate here and free their Lord from Hell.

Satana gulped. Sorcerers were one thing but Demons were quite another. There were a dozen other questions she wanted to ask but only one came to her lips. "So, why am I naked?" She asked, part of her not really wanting to know.

"A sacrifice doesn't need clothes," Rachael said grimly.

Satana was strangely unfazed by this revelation, after everything she had been through she had a feeling that this was what they wanted from her. It seemed that all hope was lost for the crimson-haired girl. But she wasn't going to give up, not now after all she had been through, not until the very end. If they wanted to take her life, they were going to have to fight her for it every step of the way.

The two girls sat there in uneasy silence, listening to the unholy chanting and the storm raging on outside. Both of them wanted to say something, anything to take their minds off of what was going on, but Rachael was unwilling to say anything else and Satana couldn't think of anything to say, she had never been the most social of girls and that was made more evident now than it had even been. The uncomfortable silence between the two girls only made Satana more aware of the intensifying heat, both inside and out, and she could feel the hot stone beneath her causing the skin on her legs and backside to blister, and that the sounds of thunderclaps were almost shaking the very foundation of the church. It was obvious now that the heat wave that plagued the city and its people was of supernatural origin, and that it and the storm that was now brewing over head were just a prelude to something far more sinister.

Not one of the sorcerers was looking her way; none of them seemed to even acknowledge her existence, at least for the time being. Satana's eyes darted around the room, taking in all she could in hopes that she would come up with a plan to escape. But all she saw were the horror's that these people had already inflicted on others. There were dozens of dead bodies all around the room, some of them had been posed, with different symbols painted on them, while others and been just dumped. All of them drained of blood and their expressions frozen in pain. Satana tried to avert her gaze from the bodies but they were everywhere, instead she steeled herself and continued to scan her surroundings.

Suddenly the room's temperature dropped rapidly, causing her to shiver uncontrollably. The sounds of the chanting and thunder had stopped. Confused by these events she turned to Rachael for some enlightenment, only to find her frozen in place, water bottle half way to her mouth. And it wasn't just her that had been frozen; everyone else in the room had been affected by this unusual event too. Everyone, except for her. A hand touched her shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Her head spun round and standing right behind her was the last person she had expected. The Sky-blue man towered over her, staring at her with his two silver orbs for eyes.

"Magnus," she said in surprise. She wasn't sure if that was his name or not, but he did not correct her. "Can you help me?" He didn't say anything; he just ran one of his long skeletal fingers down the inside of her thigh. Satana was so shocked by this act that it took her a few seconds to realise what he had done. "Hey," she shouted angrily, "what do you think you're doing you per…." She stopped halfway through the insult. She could feel the presence of her magic again. Looking down she saw that he had broken one of the lines of blood on her body, breaking the spell on her. "Thanks, now can you get these chains off of me." He shook his head.

She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to shout until her throat was raw. She wanted to unleash all of her frustration at him for his refusal to help her. But she didn't. She could sense that she needed to be here, that only she could stop what was happening here. Satana wasn't sure where this feeling was coming from, maybe it was from her magic or maybe it was from the Sky-blue man himself, she just didn't know. But what she did know was that she was stopping this, one way or another.

"What do I need to do?" she asked looking up at him but he was gone, vanished into thin air. The world returned to normal, the heat came back with a vengeance and the chanting and thunder was almost deafening compared to the silence she had just experienced. Glancing around, Satana saw that nobody was the wiser as to what had just occurred, not even Rachael who had been sitting right next to her.

Satana wasn't sure what she was going to do, she didn't have the experience to take these guys on and the only thing that could help her wasn't here. The only thing she could rely on was her natural instinct with magic, and she didn't know if that would be enough. Still it was all she had and it had served her well so far.

The rhythm of the chanting increased and the air became thick with energy. "The time is almost upon us," shouted a man near the altar. He turned round and pointed directly at Satana. "Bring the sacrifice forward."

Rachael stood up and unfastened Satana's chains from the wall. The young girl pulled on the chain, forcing her to her feet and began leading her towards the altar. Rachael's cloak fell to the floor, revealing Satana's form for all to see. Step by step she walked up to the altar, aware that all eyes were on her. But she didn't care; modesty was the least of the concerns right now. She pretended to struggle as she was lead like a lamb to slaughter, all the while slowly drawing power, eyeing her captors for any realisation on what she was doing, but there was so much magic in the air that they couldn't sense the power building inside of her. And the broken line of blood on her inner thigh was hidden from view, so no-one would realise until it was too late. But something was rising inside her with the power, a darkness growing inside her with every passing second. But it was too late to stop now. If she did, then she would be condemning the world to untold destruction, and she wasn't going to allow that to happen.

She reached the steps of the altar and was disgusted by what she saw. The altar was in the middle of a large pool of blood, taken from the bodies of hundreds of victims, and the sorcerers were standing in it up to their waists. On top of the altar was a large red stone the size of a soccer ball and it was pulsing with magic, drawn from the power of the blood of all these poor people. The air above the gem was shimmering and if she squinted she'd bet that she could see into hell itself. A thin path led up to the altar, which stood on a small concrete island, and standing on the other side of it was the man behind it all.

He was a tall man, well-built and had an aura of evil surrounding him. He wore red and black body armour, unlike his followers, with a cape with a high collar and a mask designed to look like a demonic skull. In his left hand was a vicious looking knife, with a black blade that was curved and serrated on one side. A red circular stone was set in the hilt and the pommel was pointed and curved in the opposite direction to the blade.

Rachael pulled Satana up the steps and along the path towards the man. Satana could feel the power emanating from the pool of blood, the sorrow and agony rising up out of it was both vile and intoxicating. She wanted to dive into the blood, to soak up all its power, to use it against those who would dare hurt her. She wanted to ignore her dark desire, to force it down and stamp it out. But the pull was strong and given what she had to do here, maybe it was fitting to use the power of the blood. They stopped at the island and Rachael motioned her forward. Feigning defeat, Satana stepped forward and came within two feet of the man in the skull mask.

He stepped around the gem and stood two feet from Satana. "Brothers and sisters," the man addressed the room with a deep voice. "We of the Order of Blood have waited countless years for the day we could release our Lord Trigon from his prison, so that he could take his place as the rightful ruler of the godforsaken cesspit we call a world and elevate us above the insects that populate it. And that day has finally come." He held his free hand out to Satana. "I give you Satana, daughter of the Red Witch and a Demon. And it is with her blood that we will finally accomplish our goal."

"BROTHER BLOOD. BROTHER BLOOD," chanted the crowd. But Satana was too shocked to really hear them. She had just learned that she was a demon-spawn. Her fears about becoming like her mother now seemed small compared to being a half demon.

He took a step towards her, brandishing his black knife. "Are you ready to die?"

"Bite me," she spat.

"Don't tempt me," Brother Blood chuckled. "Had you come willingly it would have only taken a small amount of your blood and you could have ruled alongside my Lord as his queen. But that time has passed and now you must die."

"Not today," Satana said and released all the power she gathered in one attack. She hit Brother Blood with a wave of red energy that pushed him back, smashing him into the altar, which in turn knocked the gemstone into the pool of blood.

"NO!" he yelled reaching for the already lost gemstone. As soon as the gem touched the pool it turned into dust, returning all the magic it had stored to the blood. He spun round and threw the knife at Satana and before she could react it struck her in the center of the chest, burying itself up to its hilt. Satana looked down at the knife in shock. She fell to her knees, darkness overcoming her before rolling into the pool and disappearing from sight. Brother Blood stood up, rage threatening to overcome him. He regained his composure and turned to Rachael, who was watching him with fear. "It looks like we'll be needing you after all, Rachael." He turned to his followers, who were now murmuring amongst themselves. "My family do not fret. We still have another achieve to complete our goal. We only have to wait for Rachael to turn sixteen and then Trigon will be free." He turned to her. "And unlike Satana she won't be able to resist."

But Rachael wasn't looking at Brother Blood, she was looking at the pool of blood to the side of him. He followed her line of sight and saw that the pool was bubbling ferociously. Then out from the depths of the pool rose Satana like a bloody angel of death. She floated several feet above the pool, her entire body was coated in blood and her chains were gone. She opened her eyes, which had turned from beautiful emerald to demonic yellow slits.

"**You wanted a Demon,"** her voiced echoed inhumanly. **"You just got one. Lubeo mortui. Obediendum voluntati, audi vocem meam, et iterum ad vitam ingredi. Surgere."** Blood rushed out of the pool in vast tendrils, each one breaking into small ones. They touched the bodies of the victims, entering and filling the them with they're lost life force and they began to spasm violently. The bodies began to rise, groaning as they did so. Then, as one, the zombies attacked their killers.

Brother Blood watched as his followers were being routed by the zombie hoard. Some managed to fight back but a lot of them had already fallen. he turned to Rachael. "Kill her," he snapped. Rachael, forced to obey, raised her hand to launch a spell. But Satana snapped her fingers and the Binding Chain around her neck shattered into a thousand pieces.

"**You'd better get out of here kid, this is going to get messy," **she told the violet eyed girl. She didn't need to be told twice and she disappeared in a flash of black, bird shaped energy.

Brother Blood rounded on Satana. "You've ruined everything!" he yelled, magical energy emanating from him, ready to strike out.

"**Boo-freaking-hoo," **she mocked him. **"You tried to kill me, so in my books, you deserve a whole lot more." **Dark**-**Satana landed on the island and the blood on her skin started to move across her body, changing in shape and form as it did. The blood turned into a red spandex tank-top with a black cross in the center of it, a red spandex skirt and red boots, gloves and a black cape that draped over her shoulders. To top off her new visage her skin turned from her usual tan to jet black. **"Though I have to thank you, for showing me my real self." **She examined her hand observing the magical energy sparking around it through her demonic eyes. **"So I may not kill you, maybe I'll just keep you as a pet."**

"DIE!" Brother Blood yelled, firing a beam of red energy at Satana.

Dark-Satana countered with backhand, dispersing the energy. She attacked him with a blast of red lightning which he caught on a shield of energy. Brother Blood shot an arc of energy at her and she blocked it with her own shield. It exploded against it, forcing her off of the island. She hovered in mid-air and floated down between the rows of chairs. He followed her, spells flying at her. Some of them were meant to hurt her, while others were designed to warp the world around her. The ground rose up around Dark-Satana's feet and engulfed her legs. She freed them by sending a shock of magic through the stone, shattering it. But trapping her feet was only a distraction and a large, dark red fireball hurtled towards her. She managed to open a portal at the last second, diverting the fireball to somewhere in Kansas. Dark-Satana attacked with a bolt of concussive energy, striking Brother Blood in the shoulder, causing him to spiral into the chairs, scattering them as he did. He rose up and the air rippled in front of him. He threw it at Dark-Satana and the invisible spell hit her hard, forcing her to the far end of the church. Dark- Satana countered by placing both hands on the ground and letting her magic flow into it. Brother Blood tried to cast another spell, but a giant hand of stone emerged from the ground and grabbed him, trying to squeeze the life out of him.

Brother Blood screamed and the hand shattered, releasing him from its hold. He was about to cast another spell at Dark-Satana when he ground heaved and threw him off balance. Before he could regain his footing the floor beneath him turned to quicksand. He tried to use magic to escape but the quicksand grew arms, which grabbed hold of his arms and head and dragged him back in. The floor and the arms turned back to stone, encasing his feet and preventing him from fleeing. He tried to free himself but the magic that held him was far stronger than his own.

Dark-Satana strode up the aisle with a relaxed pace and a sinister smile on her face. She idly flicked bursts of red energy at any of Brother Blood's followers and tossing them aside for the zombies to take care of. She raised a hand and something black flicked passed his head into her hand. It was the black knife that he had used to try and kill her. She stopped in front of Brother Blood and silently examined the knife.

"**How ironic," **she said running a finger along the blade. **"To have all your plans undone by the very person you sought to use. And now the very knife you tried to kill me with will be the end of you. Do you have any last words?"**

"P-please spare me," he begged, "a-and I will serve you as my new master."

"**Tempting, but I think not. You switch masters too quickly to be trustworthy." **She placed the serrated edge of the blade at his neck.

"N-n-no, please," he begged again."

"**Time to die, maggot," **she said and tried to run the blade across his throat, but her arm wouldn't respond. She staggered as a pain shot through her skull. The blade fell to the floor and she pressed her hands to her head as she fell to her knees.

A voice shouted in her head. _"No, I'm not evil, I'm not a killer. Give me back my body."_

"**You were too weak," **Dark-Satana told the voice. **"You'd have died without me. You don't deserve control of this body."**

"_I'M NOT WEAK," _the real Satana shouted._ "GIVE ME BACK MY BODY!"_

Pain exploded inside her as the two minds battled for dominance, and the world around her suffered the consequences. The two Satana's screamed as an enormous wave of red and black energy rushed out of her, hitting everything in its path with the force of a large bomb. Brother Blood managed to free himself from the stone arms and opened a portal to escape when the blast slammed into him, shattering every bone in his body, and sent him sprawling through his portal, which shut behind him. The wave continued on its destructive rampage, striking enemies and allies alike. Some of the sorcerers managed to escape via portals, but those who were occupied by the zombies weren't so lucky. The wave ripped the church apart, scattering its debris over the surrounding area.

Satana's skin began to change back to normal as she gained the upper hand on her darker counterpart, and her eyes returned to their usual dark emerald colour. Her clothes also changed with her, her tank-top, skirt, gloves and boots changed from red to black while her cape and the cross on her tank-top turned red. Even though she was winning, the real Satana could feel her demonic side try to regain control. With a final push, she forced her dark side down into the deepest pits of her mind, where all of her hated memories lay.

Satana fell to her knees, panting with the exertion of, not only her battle with herself but with Brother Blood as well. With a mighty effort, she got to her feet and glanced around at what was left of the church. There was nothing left of the building itself, save for the foundations, and the bodies of both the sorcerers and zombies lay scattered on the ground. The zombies were dead once more but the sorcerers were still alive, if only just. Suddenly something happened to her vision. She could see dark, string-like lines connected to each of the sorcerers' backs, reaching several feet in the air then stopping. At first she thought she was hallucinating but it quickly became obvious that these were their conduits, their connection to their magic. Turning round she saw her own conduit. It was black and red with a thin spiralling gold line separating the other two. Satana's was a lot thicker than the other sorcerers, hers being about as thick as a rope while theirs was like string. She didn't know why hers was that colour or why it was that size, at this point she didn't care. She just wanted to go home and sleep.

The sounds of sirens were approaching from somewhere off in the distance, and Satana didn't want to be here when the police arrived. But neither could she leave these sorcerers to the police, once they regained consciousness they would massacre them. With her last remaining strength she lashed out at the conduits and severed them, cutting these men and women from the magic forever.

With the last of her strength gone, Satana fell to the ground. Drained of energy and unable to move, she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her. But it never came. Something on the edge of her perception was keeping her from it. Opening her eyes she saw the demonic knife mere inches from her hand. It was pulsating with magic, just waiting to be used. She hadn't realized it was a Well before now, there had been so much magic in the air that it had been masked by it. With one final excruciating struggle, she reached out for the knife. He hand lay across it just as the sirens pulled up outside the remains of church. Power rushed through her and at the last second she fell through a portal beneath her just as the first police officer stepped out of the car.

**-00000-**

Satana landed on her bed with a light thump, scaring Hecate who had been lying at the foot of it. The knife skittered out of her hand, landing under her desk with a light clang. Hecate quickly joined her; ecstatic with her return the cat cuddled up next to her and purred loudly. She was proud of what she had accomplished today. She had saved to world from a demon, she had overcome the darkness within her and she had saved that girl, Rachael from the Order of Blood. True she had been a demon herself during all that, but up until she had tried to kill Brother Blood, both her and her darker half had worked as one. But she had to be cautious from now on, she couldn't risk letter her darker half take control again, otherwise who knew what might happen.

With fatigue finally setting in, Satana hugged Hecate back and started to drift off into a well-deserved sleep.

**-00000-**

Brother Blood lay on the ground, beaten and bloody and struggling to stay alive. He didn't know where he was, he didn't have time to pick a location, but it was dark, infinitely dark. He tried to use a spell to heal himself but his magic wouldn't work. It was hopeless for the leader of the former Order of Blood, he was dying and that witch, Satana, was responsible. He wanted revenge on her more than anything, more than he wanted Trigon's return. He didn't care what the price was as long as he had he head on a spike.

_**DO YOU WANT VENGENCE FOR THE CRIMES COMMITED AGAINST YOU, **_a voice screamed in his head, every word threatening to rip his skull apart. He placed both hands to his head in a vain attempt to keep his head together. _**DO YOU WSH TO HAVE THE LIFE OF THE DEMON SPAWN IN YOUR HANDS? WILL YOU SERVE THE DARKNESS AGAINST THE LIGHT?**_

Brother Blood screamed in agony as the voice spoke, his entire body convulsing as he did. "YES," he shouted. "YES, ANYTHING FOV VENGENCE!"

_**THEN RISE, MY VANGUARD, AND OBEY.**_

The pain stopped suddenly and new life was breathed into him. A power greater than anything he had ever felt before filled him. He rose to his feet and, staring at the darkness above, laughed insanely.

** -00000-**

**San Francisco**

**June 18****th**** 04:09**

It was still pitch black outside; the sun wouldn't rise for another hour or so, a perfect time for Satana to practise her magic. Satana stood in the middle of an abandoned car factory, her hand outstretched and focusing on an engine block left behind by the previous owners. She took several deep breaths and drew on her magic, aiming it at the engine.

"Augmentum," she spoke. A first nothing happened, but slowly the engine began to rise, higher and higher until it was ten feet off the ground. Once she was happy she let it drop. "Fulmen," she said and red lightning jumped from her finger tips, striking the engine and melting a good portion of it just before it hit the ground.

Over the past three weeks Satana had been practicing with her magic whenever she got the chance, which was usually every night, and she was gradually improving. She wasn't as strong as she had been before and she doubted she'd be back to her original strength anytime soon. Sealing her darker half away in her mind had cut Satana's powers in half and her spells where taking a greater toll on her body and she had to rely on incantations for half of her spells now. But it had been a small and necessary price to pay and one she would gladly do again. She would not risk her darker half getting free again; there was no telling what she would do.

Taking a break, Satana walked over to the old car she had been using as a makeshift desk. Hecate was sitting on the roof of the car, curled up and asleep as usual. Whenever Satana went out to practice, Hecate followed her, and she enjoyed the company, even though the conversation was a bit one sided. On the bonnet of the car lay her bottle of water, Brother Blood's knife and the Book of Magnus. The book had reappeared in her room the day after her fight with Brother Blood and ever since then she had found it hard to put down. It had taught her a lot about her powers and the theories and magical rituals inside it were fascinating, though she didn't dare try some of them.

From it she learned that her powers of dark magic came from two sources of Dark Magic, not just one, this explained why her conduit was significantly larger than the other sorcerers. The first source was tied to her human side which she inherited from her mother. It could be unpredictable at times and using it left a taint within her that, if left unchecked, could corrupt her. To help fight off this taint the book taught her a mediation technique that she had to do for at least an hour or two a day for everyday she used her powers, in order to cleanse herself. If she didn't she would risk her darker half taking control. The other source was tied to her demon side and she could not use its power while her darker half was sealed away, which suited Satana just fine. The book had offered more insight to her demonic powers but she mostly ignored them.

Satana also learned that her powers would have a few positive effects on her. She wouldn't physically age past twenty and could live for at least a few hundred years if she chose to. Her magic would also stave off most non-magical illnesses, keeping her fit and healthy as long as she had access to it.

Satana sat on the bonnet of the car and took a sip of water, staring out of a broken window at the city. A cool breeze blew through it causing her to shiver. After her battle with the Order of Blood, the weather returned to normal, much to the relief of everyone and herself. After a few moments just sitting there and relaxing, Satana decided that she should be getting home before her foster parents woke up. Sliding off of the bonnet she grabbed the book and with an incantation it shrank to the size of a stamp. Placing it in her jacket pocket and attached the knife to her belt, she went to get Hecate only to find her staring at something in the distance. Satana followed her cat's line of sight but couldn't see what had captured her attention. Then a shape flew out of the darkness at her and Hecate pounced, grabbing it in mid-air and pinning it to the floor

Hecate had caught a bat and held it down with her two front paws. She looked to Satana as if to say "look at what I caught, am I great or am I great?" and was looking to be praised. Satana didn't rush to free the bat, Hecate had never hurt anything she had caught before and there was no reason to suspect she had done this time, but one look at it told her it wasn't an ordinary bat. First, and most obvious, was that it was made of metal and second was that its eyes were blinking like the light on an answering machine.

She picked Hecate off of the bat, rewarding her with a tickle under her chin, and the bat stood up and opened its mouth. A light shone from it and a 3D hologram of a man in a black mask and cape appeared. Batman, the Dark Knight, stood before her.

"Satana," Batman's hologram said. "I'm putting together a team of heroes and I want you to be a part of it." he said bluntly. "I can't make you but if you choose to join follow the bat and it'll lead you to me. I can't tell you any more than this, anyone could be listening in. But the world is at stake and it needs all the heroes it can get." The hologram turned off and the bat sat and waited for Satana's choice.

Satana stood there silent for several moments, deep in thought. Should she do this, should she join this team of heroes? She didn't like the sound of it, she had always been on her own, besides Hecate that is, and she had never really been comfortable around other people being around other people would be awkward for her. But on the other hand if she did join she could do some real good in the world, and maybe by doing this she could finally get out of the dark shadow her mother had cast over her life.

But there was something she had to do first. She picked up the robot bat and stuck it in her bag. Then she went home for the last time.

**-00000-**

Her foster parents were lying in bed, sound asleep and unaware that Satana had entered their room. She watched them for a few moments, uncertain whether or not she wanted to go through with this. They had taken good care of her in the eight years she spent here, and while they feared her they were the closest thing to a real family she had. Another moment passed and she reached a decision.

She left the room quietly, and went back to her own. She closed the door behind her and locked it, before waking over to her wardrobe mirror. In each of the four corners were magical symbols draw with ruby red lipstick, borrowed from her foster mom. She held Hecate tight in her one arm while placing the other on the reflective glass.

"Reflexio Emergere," she spoke and fed magical energy into the mirror. Once she had done it she took a step back and her refection stepped out of the mirror holding an identical Hecate in her arms. "Hello," she said to it.

"Hello," her reflection said back.

It was very eerily looking at her now living refection; she was identical to her in almost every way, she had her memories, her skills, her personality, and her intelligence. She had everything right down to the mirror Hecate that had leapt from her arms and was now playing with her real counterpart. The only real difference was that her reflection wouldn't have any powers of her own and she wouldn't cast a reflection in the mirror she stepped out of, but hopefully this wouldn't cause any problems.

"Do you know why you're here?" Satana asked her reflection.

"I am here to live your life, to cover for you here until you wish to come back," the Mirror-Satana responded.

Satana nodded. She didn't know what else to say, her reflection would know everything she did so there was little point in telling her anything. So instead she held out her hand and said, "Thanks, and good luck."

The reflection shook her hand and said, "You too."

With all said and done Satana picked up her Hecate and walked over to the window. She took one last look at the two living reflections, both were looking at her curiously, and glided down to the pavement below. She took the robot bat out of her back and said, "Let's go." It leapt into the air and took off, with Satana and Hecate close behind.

**-00000-**

The robot bat had led Satana almost in a full circle. She could see the abandoned car factory from where she stood. The bat had stopped in front of a small building with a large garage door on the side of it. The door opened when the bat got close to it and inside was a large silver and white platform. The bat flew in and waited for Satana to step on the platform.

"Well, this is it Hecate," she said, slightly nervous.

She stepped on the platform and a computer voice spoke. **"Authorisation Granted. Recognised B31, Satana." **in a flash of light Satana disappeared and the door began to shut, returning it to the illusion that it was just a normal garage.

As the door shut a streak orange lightning raced across the water towards it, causing to sea to boil and steam as it passed over it. It approached the building at high speed, but it wasn't fast enough and the door closed before it reached it. The bolt struck against the door and aged it a dozen years, causing it to rust. The bolt changed direction and ran through the streets of San Francisco, before disappearing halfway to the Golden Gate Bridge screaming, "HELP!"

**-00000-**

**End of Chapter 04**

**Ok sorry again this one took so long. Between Fire Emblem: Awakening and extra hours at work I had very little time to work on it. But hopefully I'll be a bit quicker with the next one.**

**One final note I am in need of a super villain for my story. The form and rules for its creation are on my profile page. I look forward your submissions.**

**List of spoken spells used by Satana.**

**Lubeo mortui. Obediendum voluntati, audi vocem meam, et iterum ad vitam ingredi. Surgere. – I order the dead to rise. Obey my will, obey my word, and once again walk among the living. RISE.**

**Augmentum – Rise**

**Fulmen – Lightning **

**Reflexio Emergere – Refection Emerge.**


End file.
